Industrial Robots Market: Status, Trends, Prospects

In Russia, the volume of industrial robot production increased by 4.5 times in 2024. More and more robots are appearing in such industries as aircraft and shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, logistics. And in car factories and metalworking, they have long become the norm.

What will the global and Russian industrial robot market be like by 2025?

By 2025, the world's leading industrial robotics countries will be China, Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Germany. Thus, 75% of the world's robot fleet is in these countries, with 51% in China. Russia ranks 43rd in the world, if we evaluate the density of robotics and the number of robots in enterprises. Currently, this figure is 19 robots per 10 thousand workers, and the Russian robot fleet consists of approximately 13 thousand units.

However, by 2030, Russia plans to increase these figures tenfold: robot density – up to 194 robots per 10 thousand workers, and the number of robots at enterprises – up to 125 thousand units. For such a rate, the average annual growth should be 38%.

In Russia, robots are most widely used in the following industries:

// automotive industry,
// metal processing,
// food industry.

Among successful examples of industrial robotization, we can highlight the automation of welding at the Tikhvin Carriage Works. The time it takes to complete this type of work has been reduced by 8 times. Another example is the robotization of half of the welding processes at Voronezhstalmost. It can be noted that welding is the area in which robots are most actively and successfully introduced. On the one hand, due to the shortage of personnel, on the other hand, due to the fact that robotic systems cope well with tasks that require precision and repeatability.

State support in the field of implementation of robotics in industrial production

The state places great hopes on the robotization of production, and therefore is taking a number of measures to accelerate it:

// Vladimir Putin signed a decree on national development goals: one of the theses is Russia's entry into the top 25 countries in terms of robot density by 2030.
// The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to create 30 regional centers for industrial robotics. The first such center was opened in Tatarstan on the basis of Innopolis, the second in Perm.
// The Ministry of Industry and Trade will also reimburse investors for 20% of the costs of purchasing and implementing robots in production. Russian manufacturing companies that are not undergoing bankruptcy proceedings and are not foreign agents, with a share of foreign capital of less than 25%, can count on such support.
// Some state corporations, such as Rostec, Rosatom and Roscosmos, will be allowed to use imported robotic solutions when modernizing production facilities if there are no Russian analogues.
// The St. Petersburg Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) is launching a new financial program, “Loans for Industrial Enterprise Robotization.” The loan amount will be from 5 to 500 million rubles for a period of five years at 3% for the entire period.
// The Federal Center for Strategic Development will help Russian enterprises implement robots within the framework of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s national project “Production and Automation Tools”.

Challenges for Russian industrial robotics

One of the difficulties that arises in the process of implementing industrial robots is the lack of personnel. There are not enough qualified professionals for setting up, installing and maintaining them, and there is not enough time to train workers.

In addition, robotization remains an expensive process. Not so much because of the cost of the robots themselves, but because of the development of new processes and the duration of implementation. However, the professional community is coming to the understanding that in the long term, robotization increases production efficiency and pays for itself in an average of slightly more than one year.

The robotization process in Russia has also been slowed down by sanctions. And although all industries are actively striving for import substitution, factors such as the lack of Russian component and production bases, as well as low investment activity, may act as constraints.

Trends in the development of industrial robots in Russia

There is a positive trend of interest in installing robots by small and medium businesses . Despite the complexity and high cost of installing and setting up equipment, robots increase productivity and minimize the "human factor".

Robots do not work instead of humans , but together with them. For example, the success of the welding process depends not only on the robot itself, but also on the equipment, control systems, quality of raw materials, tooling, positioners. A person is responsible for all this in one way or another, and the robot is just a mechanism that moves the torch along the desired trajectory.

The most popular types of work delegated to industrial robots are welding, loading or unloading parts into a machine, assembly, and also placing the product into a box and boxes onto a pallet . The largest number of all robots installed in Russian production facilities are involved in loading and unloading operations and welding: 52% and 19%, respectively. And it is these areas that attract the largest investments. A relatively new trend is the use of robots in logistics and pharmaceuticals.

Another new trend in industrial robotics is the use of artificial intelligence . Generative AI models are used to optimize production processes and automatically design parts.

The Role of Weldex 2025 in the Development of Industrial Robotics

It is obvious that in Russia and in the world the use of industrial robots for welding is growing – a type of work that requires extreme precision and concentration. At the international exhibition of welding materials, equipment and technologies Weldex, a whole section will be devoted to welding robots.

The event will bring together professionals from all over the world to show their latest developments and look at the achievements of other market leaders. Such a global exchange of experience will allow all participants to get acquainted with innovative solutions in the field and provide an opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation. Weldex is attended by 6,800+ visitors from 76 regions of the Russian Federation and 19 countries, 85% of whom visit the exhibition to conclude new contracts. Show your welding technologies and innovations in 12 sections of the main welding exhibition of the country from October 7 to 10, 2025 at the Crocus Expo IEC.

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