Over the past decade, the Chinese mobile robot sector has grown at an extraordinary pace, supported by booming e-commerce, increasing labor costs, and the government’s drive to accelerate automation.
Hundreds of domestic players entered the market, producing automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and highly specialized warehouse automation. However, as with many fast-growing industries in China, this rapid expansion has led to a saturated domestic market characterized by intense competition and relentless price pressure.
Today, Chinese mobile robot vendors are looking outward. Faced with slower domestic growth and squeezed margins at home, many of the larger companies have embarked on an aggressive internationalization strategy. By expanding into Europe, North America, and other higher-priced markets, they are seeking both higher profitability and long-term stability.
The graph above shows the research firm’s analysis of over 60 Chinese mobile robot vendors’ revenues indexed to 2018. The graph shows that companies that have expanded internationally have significantly outperformed those focused solely on the domestic market.
It also shows that as these vendors broaden their offerings to international markets, the performance gap is getting bigger. It demonstrates a widening divergence between global-facing firms and their domestic-only focused rivals.
This insight from Interact Analysis explores the growing expansion of Chinese mobile robot vendors that are expanding internationally and the implications this will have on the global market.
Chinese developers face domestic market struggles
China’s mobile robotics market has matured quickly, but not without growing pains. At the peak of the robotics boom shortly after COVID-19, during which the overall warehouse automation market expanded exponentially, many new entrants emerged.
Each vendor was vying for contracts with leading e-commerce companies, logistics providers, and manufacturers. In this race to secure market share, many companies adopted aggressive pricing strategies.
According to Interact Analysis’ research discussions, it has become common for companies to bid for projects at cost, or even at a loss, as vendors prioritize winning reference customers and gaining scale.
This race-to-the-bottom pricing has created an extremely challenging domestic market in China. All vendors are having to cut costs and find ways to offer products at rock-bottom prices.
Prices for AMRs in China are the lowest globally, and they can be just 25% of the price of those sold in the U.S. and Europe. Gross margins are razor-thin — or non-existent — and many smaller or undercapitalized companies have struggled to survive, despite state backing.
At the same time, broader economic challenges in China have exacerbated the problem. Manufacturing output slowed to around 2% in 2024, consumer demand weakened, and investment appetite has been more cautious than in the previous decade. This stagnation has further intensified competition, leaving Chinese mobile robot vendors with little choice but to look overseas for new opportunities.
The quest for global expansion
For Chinese mobile robot vendors, international markets present a compelling opportunity. Firstly, robot prices in Europe and the Americas are significantly higher.
Automated forklifts priced at $15,000 to 20,000 in China may well sell for $40,000 to 60,000 or more in European and North American markets. Even after factoring in additional safety specifications, logistics, support infrastructure, and localization costs, the potential for higher margins is substantial.
Secondly, global expansion enables Chinese vendors to diversify their customer base. Relying solely on the domestic Chinese market, however huge, exposes companies to high levels of risk due to volatility, intense competition, and shifting government policies. By building a presence in international markets, firms can secure more balanced and resilient revenue streams.
Finally, the opportunity to establish themselves as global leaders is an attractive long-term incentive. For many Chinese vendors, gaining recognition in Europe and North America is not only a path to profitability, but also a way to enhance their reputation, credibility, and technological standing worldwide.
Companies such as Geek+ and Hai Robotics have been especially successful, rising from smaller domestic-focused China startups only 10 years ago to become global market leaders. This shows just how quickly vendors can grow when they expand with the correct infrastructure in place.
How to be successful
Expanding globally is not without challenges. Chinese vendors entering the European and the North American market face many hurdles:
- Brand recognition: European and North American customers are often unfamiliar with Chinese robot brands.
- Perceptions of quality and reliability: Many customers view Chinese solutions as lower quality and less reliable compared with established Western manufacturers.
- Service and support requirements: Global customers demand localized, on-the-ground service for maintenance, integration, and after-sales support.
- Appointing the right leaders: Understanding local market dynamics and customs can be challenging for international vendors. Appointing leaders with extensive local market knowledge can help bridge the gap.
- Data security: There are still concerns about data security among many European and North American customers when it comes to Chinese mobile robots. This worry comes from historical tension and the broader geopolitical context around technology, and it reflects a general uneasiness about potential surveillance or data misuse.
To overcome these barriers, leading Chinese mobile robot companies have pursued several key strategies.
1. Strategic partnerships with system integrators
One of the most effective approaches has been partnering with established European and North American system integrators. These partnerships allow Chinese vendors to leverage the credibility and customer relationships of Western partners to integrate their hardware into broader automation solutions and also localize and adapt their offerings to meet regional requirements.
By positioning themselves as cost-effective technology providers within larger automation projects, Chinese vendors gain access to customers that might otherwise hesitate to engage with a new and unfamiliar brand.
2. Establishing overseas offices and support centers
To address concerns about service and support, companies such as Geek+ and Hai Robotics have invested heavily in building local infrastructure outside of China. Both companies now operate offices, warehouses, and service centers across Europe and the U.S.
Hai Robotics made the conscious choice to appoint local CEOs and leaders. Interact Analysis believes this understanding of local business customs outside China has contributed to its international success in growing its brand and market presence.
This physical presence reassures customers that they will have access to timely support and reduces the perception of risk. It also allows these firms to better understand local market dynamics, regulations, and customer expectations.
3. Differentiating through cost-effectiveness
Chinese mobile robot vendors benefit from extremely low cost structures due to low-cost supply chains and state support. For many customers in Europe and North America, particularly those embarking on smaller or less complex automation projects, the cost savings of choosing a Chinese OEM can be decisive.
When speaking with incumbent Western vendors during our research, they highlighted that they are often experiencing competition from Chinese vendors on smaller projects, where the cost savings in choosing a Chinese product can be significant.
For example, a small warehouse operator that cannot justify a multimillion-dollar investment in traditional European or North American systems can instead deploy Chinese mobile robots at a fraction of the cost and get a return on investment (ROI) much sooner.
The long-term impacts of China’s expansion
The aggressive expansion of Chinese mobile robot vendors is reshaping the competitive landscape of warehouse automation and mobile robotics.
- Increased accessibility of automation: By offering lower-cost alternatives, Chinese vendors are making automation accessible to smaller businesses and less complex operations previously priced out of the market. This is likely to accelerate overall adoption of mobile robots, particularly in regions such as Europe and North America, where customers’ labor shortages and cost pressures are intensifying.
- Increasing pricing pressure: Incumbent mobile robot vendors have enjoyed limited exposure to low-cost competitors. While Western vendors often differentiate through deep industry expertise, complex integrations, and proven reliability, as well as more service offerings, there will be some customers that prioritize price over anything else.
- System integrators moving up the value chain: As system integrators partner further with Chinese mobile robot vendors, the former will likely move up the value chain and provide higher-value software and services. Traditional integrators are developing more partnerships with Chinese mobile robot OEMs. For example, Dematic has partnered with Quicktron, while SSI Schaefer and Vanderlande have both partnered with Hai Robotics. As the “buy versus build” calculus shifts in favor of “buy” because of lower-cost Chinese vendors, integrators may look to generate more revenue streams from software and services.
Chinese robots pose challenges to the market
Expanding globally does not come without risks. Challenges such as trade tensions and tariffs, regulatory barriers, data security concerns, and lingering perceptions of quality will need to be carefully managed. Additionally, providing high-quality local support at scale is both resource-intensive and essential for long-term success.
Nevertheless, the direction of travel is clear. The saturated and highly competitive Chinese market is forcing leading players to look outward, and the allure of higher-margin opportunities abroad is too strong to ignore.
North American- and EMEA-headquartered mobile robot vendors are now left making difficult decisions about how to deal with aggressive expansion from Chinese vendors. It will be interesting to see how they react.
About the author
A thoroughly professional, analytical, and highly educated researcher, Jonathan Sparkes gained his analysis and modelling skills from a B.S. in mathematics. He works in Interact Analysis’ industrial automation sector with a focus on machine vision and is particularly interested in how technology can be used to improve systems.
Editor’s note: This article was syndicated from Interact Analysis.
Learn about the Chinese robotics industry at RoboBusiness
Don’t miss RoboBusiness 2025 on Oct. 15 and16 in Santa Clara, Calif. The conference will include sessions about AI, humanoids, and China’s robotics dominance.
One session titled “Global Implications of China’s Robotics Push” will be led by Georg Stieler, head of robotics and automation at Stieler Technology & Market Advisory. He will examine the key factors behind China’s momentum in robotics and AI, including market dynamics, current capabilities, and breakthroughs in next-generation systems.
The session will also explore the structural challenges still facing Chinese robotics companies and how early-industrialized countries might respond to remain competitive.
RoboBusiness will also feature a keynote panel titled “Closing the Robotics Gap with China.” The panel will include insights from Stieler as well as Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3); Eric Truebenbach, managing director at Teradyne Ventures; and Eugene Demaitre, editorial director at The Robot Report and Automated Warehouse.
RoboBusiness, the premier event for developers and suppliers of commercial robots, will also have tracks on physical AI, enabling technologies, business, and design and development best practices. It will feature more than 60 speakers, a startup workshop, the annual Pitchfire competition, and numerous networking opportunities.
Over 100 exhibitors on the show floor will showcase their latest enabling technologies, products, and services. Registration is now open.
Save the date for the 2026 Robotics Summit
