BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2016/28
Car manufacturers have led the push for industrial automation globally. They accounted last year for 38 % of robot sales, but the volume of growth in robot sales today is slow. While the number of robots working in China’s car industry has risen rapidly, vast growth potential remains. The IFR reports that in 2014 there were just over 300 robots per 10,000 workers at Chinese carmakers, while carmakers in Japan had over 1,400 robots per 10,000 workers.
China has also risen rapidly among global robot manufacturers. Nearly a third of all industrial robots sold last year in China were manufactured locally. Although Chinese robot makers still mainly produce systems for fairly simple application, they aspire to advanced robotic capabilities. China’s home appliance giant Midea this week announced it was acquiring a 50 % stake in the German Kuka, the world’s largest manufacturer of industrial robots. The deal will increase its stake in Kuka to 64 %. Reuters reported last month that China’s largest industrial robot maker Siasun is looking to acquire firms in Europe. In June, a Chinese-European investment fund purchased an Italian robot manufacturer.
China’s rapid and continuous technological advancement was also evident last month when Chinese supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight took first place in the TOP500 supercomputer speed rankings. The Chinese already held the top position, but the latest breakthrough involved switching out traditional Intel processors with locally developed ShenWei processors. The new processors, however, slightly restrict the range of TaihuLight application areas compared to competing models.