When the “destiny” of AI descends upon manufacturing, ABB and its China Robot leadership choose to cut through the waves of technological change with the blade of localization. Guided by its new brand promise of “Engineering for a better world,” ABB is committing to craftsmanship and innovation, steering towards a new era of human-robot collaboration and intelligent efficiency for the China robot industry.
The global manufacturing landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, with its “time and climate” converging in the East. At the helm of this transformation within one of the world’s leading robotics companies is Chen Han, Senior Vice President of ABB Group and President of ABB Robotics China. He is scripting a new chapter in industrial automation with a localization strategy that embodies “superior materials and exquisite craftsmanship,” tailored for the world’s most dynamic market.
1. Navigating the Giants: The China Robot Market as Global Leader
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) in its 2024 World Robotics Report, approximately 4.28 million robots are operating in factories worldwide, a 10% year-on-year increase. The annual installation of industrial robots has exceeded 500,000 units for three consecutive years. China stands as the largest market globally. In 2023, a total of 276,288 industrial robots were installed worldwide, with China accounting for 51% of the global total. In the same year, China’s operational stock of industrial robots reached approximately 1.8 million units, making it the first and only country to possess such a vast stock. In the long term, China’s manufacturing sector still holds significant growth potential, with an expected average annual growth rate of 5% to 10% before 2027.
This staggering “51%” global installation share is powered by the surging wave of intelligent transformation within Chinese manufacturing. In Chen Han’s view, the China robot market is dynamic and requires constant innovation, compelling ABB to continuously maintain its industry leadership. The unique advantages of China’s manufacturing sector also drive the evolution of robotics technology. “On one hand, we recognize the massive scale and growth potential of the China robot market. For 11 years, China has been the world’s largest industrial robot market, and robots remain key to China’s efforts in building a modern industrial system and advancing new industrialization. We see that both global and China robot automation development are in a major transition period, with automation technology applications expanding into multiple industry sectors at an unprecedented pace,” Han stated. “On the other hand, China’s manufacturing sector creates rich and diverse application scenarios for robots. The China robot market covers all aspects of robot usage across industries and applications. The intelligent upgrading of manufacturing constantly generates numerous innovative applications, providing fertile ground for technological innovation.”
2. The Core of Strategy: Deep-Rooted Localization in the China Robot Ecosystem
With 50 years of technological accumulation in robot automation and 30 years of leadership in the China robot industry, ABB possesses a robust foundation for developing products for this market. Chen Han explained, “ABB’s core advantage lies in building a fully localized value chain system covering R&D, production, sales, system integration, and after-sales service. This not only significantly shortens the product time-to-market but also enables rapid response to local needs.”
Following the formal opening of the ABB Robotics Super Factory in Shanghai in 2022, the company has continued to increase its investment in China. This includes launching a local production line for NEMA servo motors and China’s first fully automated industrial robot painting line, while actively strengthening supply chain resilience. Simultaneously, by deeply participating in local standard formulation and initiating a new channel partner program, ABB has built a proactive ecosystem synergy network, further expanding market coverage and influence, comprehensively enhancing its competitiveness in the China robot market.
3. AI Integration: New Product Launches Redefining the China Robot Portfolio
ABB announced a new round of AI strategy in 2024, embedding artificial intelligence across its business lines. On July 2, 2025, it launched three new robot series: Lite+ for basic applications, PoWa redefining collaborative robots, and the new generation IRB 1200 small industrial robot with breakthroughs in precision and speed. Chen Han detailed these series:
- Lite+: Designed for basic material handling, pick-and-place operations, it is compact and easy to use, lowering the automation barrier for small enterprises. This series is currently primarily targeted at the China and Asian markets and can be seamlessly integrated with the new IRB 1200 and other IRB series robots, providing flexible end-to-end production solutions for industries like electronics manufacturing.
- PoWa: A compact collaborative robot built for speed, collaboration, and efficiency. Its industrial-grade speed reaches up to 5.8 m/s, making it ideal for fast pick-and-place, palletizing, and machine tending. PoWa, currently mainly targeting the China robot market, enables code-free programming and features plug-and-play peripherals, going from unboxing to normal operation in just 60 minutes, which is highly attractive to SMEs.
- New IRB 1200: A newly designed small industrial robot for the global market, optimized for high-speed, high-precision applications like assembly, polishing, and gluing. Compared to its predecessor, the new generation is about 20% lighter and more compact, allowing manufacturers to build more space-saving production cells, thereby increasing output and operational efficiency.
All three robot series are equipped with the OmniCore™ single controller platform, which enables full integration of AI, sensors, cloud, and edge computing systems to create advanced and autonomous robot applications. Han explained that based on 30 years of leadership in the China robot industry, ABB launched these three new series to meet the needs of customers in emerging and expanding industries. By providing flexible, modular, AI-driven technology to lower the automation threshold, ABB is driving the application of advanced manufacturing in emerging fields and supporting the next wave of industrial innovation in China and globally.
At the new product launch, ABB also showcased an AI-driven, groundbreaking natural language robot teaching software tool, running on the new PoWa collaborative robot. It combines generative AI and analytical AI. The teaching process is accelerated through three simple steps—”See, Say, Do”—where the robot perceives its environment via vision, processes voice commands in real-time, and quickly translates them into precise actions.
4. Localized Leap at China Speed: From Manufacturing to Innovation
ABB has been cultivating the China robot market for 30 years. From its first introduction of imported robots in 1994 to now achieving 90% local production for products supplied to Chinese customers, its development trajectory mirrors the progress of automation in China.
A notable aspect of this launch is that PoWa and Lite+ were led by the China R&D team. “The birth of Lite+ originated from a core pain point we observed in the electronics industry: on customer production lines, ABB robots for high-precision tasks often coexist with other robots for simple handling, creating complex integration and management challenges. We learned about the customer demand for easy integration and flexible deployment,” Chen Han revealed. Based on this, the China team responded rapidly, taking only 15 months from insight to market for this product. This not only demonstrates ABB’s localized capabilities but also represents a solid commitment to the China robot market and its customers, keeping pace with “China Speed.”
In 2024, ABB Robotics introduced its “领御华章” (Lead the Chapter) localization strategy, a comprehensive, in-depth localization core strategy for the China robot market. It aims to consolidate and strengthen its market leadership through three pathways: enhancing core competitiveness, accelerating innovation, and strengthening ecosystem collaboration. Specific measures include:
- Enhancing Core Competitiveness: Significantly increasing the localization proportion of the supply chain, aiming to raise the domestic supplier ratio to 81% this year to enhance resilience, and strengthening local talent cultivation.
- Accelerating Innovation: Continuously expanding the integrated product portfolio to offer rich choices and leading performance, while critically driving the upgrade from “manufacturing localization” to “innovation-driven localization.” This enables full-process local decision-making from demand collection to customer service, shortening time-to-market and developing products that precisely fit local needs. Examples include new products like Lite+, the new generation IRB 1200, and the PoWa series developed for multi-dimensional automation demands in high-growth fields like electronics, consumer goods, and general industry. Active collaboration with leading AI companies is also part of this effort.
- Strengthening Ecosystem Collaboration: Deep integration into local standard formulation (e.g., partnering with Shanghai Electric Apparatus Research Institute to promote CR certification for high-quality robot industry development), developing scenario-based solutions, and working with channel and ecosystem partners to enhance value collectively.
The core of this strategy lies in building an end-to-end closed loop of local capabilities, offering greater resistance to geopolitical factors and enabling more agile market response and more sustainable growth in the China robot sector.
Taking the PoWa collaborative robot as an example, developed under this strategy, its design was completed at the R&D center within ABB’s $150 million Shanghai Super Factory and is produced at that facility. As the first multinational robotics company to establish a full value chain in China—from R&D, production, sales, to after-sales service—ABB will also support local customers through a service network covering 22 cities nationwide. Chen Han stated, “We have undergone multi-dimensional development stages in China, starting with localizing global products, then prioritizing China for new product launches, to now, in the true sense, developing products based on local market needs, focusing on expansion and deep cultivation in the China robot market.”
5. The Dual-Track Future: Autonomy and Collaboration in the China Robot Evolution
Research indicates that by 2028, collaborative robots will account for 20% of the industrial robot market, with demand in China reaching 100,000 units. However, Chen Han points to a deeper transformation: the real revolution lies in Autonomous Versatile Robotics. Regarding the much-discussed humanoid robots, ABB focuses more on essential functionality. Customers ask “what can it do,” not “how human-like it is.” When a robot can autonomously plan paths and understand vague commands like “move the shelf to the east zone” through large language models, the form factor becomes less important.
In recent years, ABB has been further developing “Autonomous Versatile Robotics”—mobile robots capable of switching between tasks, making autonomous decisions, and performing work without continuous human input. The goal is to enhance robot intelligence so they can understand the environment and the operations they need to perform. ABB has also implemented AI-enabled vision sorting, predictive maintenance, and natural language programming. Simultaneously, through innovations like software platforms, ABB ensures the safety, reliability, and stability required for industrial scenarios, striking a balance between AI-driven diverse applications and guaranteed performance.
As Chen Han remarked, facing the world’s largest, dynamically evolving China robot market—brimming with both challenges and opportunities—ABB is confident in its continued growth. To consolidate its leading position and seize opportunities, ABB will internally empower the local industrial chain and increase robot density across various sectors, particularly helping companies with limited technical accumulation achieve breakthroughs in robot autonomy and versatility. Externally, leveraging China’s supply chain advantages, ABB will actively support and accompany excellent Chinese enterprises like BYD in exploring overseas markets. By continuously learning from market changes and accelerating technological iteration, ABB is committed to empowering more emerging industries, promoting the global success of its China robot customers while achieving its own growth, creating a multi-party win-win situation.
The planned spin-off and listing of ABB’s robotics business in 2026 has drawn industry attention, undoubtedly a key move in ABB’s strategic play. “This is not a divestment, but a focus,” Chen Han interpreted. “The robotics business has demonstrated resilience, with margins remaining in double digits for most quarters since 2019. We believe that following this separation, it will benefit from being measured against peers as a standalone company focused on robotics.” Meanwhile, as AI’s “destiny” continues to reshape manufacturing, ABB’s choice remains clear: to wield the blade of localization to navigate the technological waves, upholding its promise of “Engineering for a better world,” and jointly advancing towards a new, human-robot collaborative, intelligent, and efficient era for the China robot industry.