Focus on Hot Topics • Automation | Analysis of the Development Status and Future Outlook of the Industrial Automation In
2025-11-18
In recent years, the Chinese government has issued a number of industrialization policies and development guidelines supporting industrial automation equipment, which have promoted the rapid development of the industry. With the advancement of the "14th Five-Year Plan", intelligent manufacturing has become a long-term development trend, and market share has concentrated on enterprises with strong independent innovation capabilities and rapid product upgrading and iteration. In addition, the rise in labor costs and population aging have intensified enterprises' demand for automation equipment.
In the future, the industrial automation industry will continue to benefit from policy support and changes in market demand. With the continuous advancement of technology, industrial automation equipment will become more intelligent and networked, driving the manufacturing industry to develop in the direction of high-end and intelligentization.
I. Industry Status Quo: A Golden Age Driven by the Trinity of Policy, Technology, and Demand
In 2025, China’s industrial automation industry is embracing historic development opportunities. According to the 2025-2030 Panoramic Research and Trend Outlook Report on the Global and China Industrial Automation Industry released by Cnipr Industry Research Institute, the industry’s market size has exceeded RMB 322.5 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%, accounting for 25% of the global market share. Behind this growth lies the superimposed effect of the trinity-driven force of policy, technology, and demand.
(I) Policy Drive: Strategic Upgrade from "Manufacturing Power" to "Intelligent Manufacturing Power"
The "14th Five-Year Plan for Intelligent Manufacturing" clearly requires that 70% of manufacturing enterprises above designated size achieve digitalization by 2025, directly driving the industry into a high-quality development cycle. The Industrial Automation Innovation and Development Action Plan (2025-2027) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) proposes that the national industrial robot density will reach 400 units per 10,000 people by 2027, a 60% increase compared with 2020, with key support for the automation upgrading of emerging industries such as new energy vehicles and semiconductors.
(II) Technological Breakthroughs: Paradigm Shift from "Standalone Automation" to "System Intelligence"
Technological innovation is reshaping the industry ecosystem:
Intelligent Control Technology: Inovance Technology’s PLC programming platform is compatible with Siemens’ TIA Portal ecosystem, increasing programming efficiency by 50% and shortening the single-project development cycle by 30%. SUPCON’s DCS system holds over 50% market share in the petrochemical sector; its APC (Advanced Process Control) software has replaced products from Honeywell and Yokogawa, reducing energy consumption by 15%.
Industrial Robot Technology: Estun’s collaborative robot shipments have increased by 40% annually, with load capacity exceeding 30kg, applied in scenarios such as automotive welding and 3C assembly. STEP’s "carbon-neutral" robot model IRB 1100 achieves a 30% carbon emission reduction throughout its life cycle and reduces energy consumption by 20% compared with traditional models.
Industrial Internet Technology: Huawei’s 5G + Industrial Internet solution has a latency of less than 10ms. After deployment in enterprises such as Baosteel and Sany Heavy Industry, the equipment failure response time has been shortened from 2 hours to 15 minutes, and production efficiency has increased by 25%.
II. Market Size and Trend Analysis: Leap from a 100-Billion-Level to a Trillion-Level Track
Differentiated growth is observed in segmented fields:
Industrial Robot Sector: The scale reaches RMB 85 billion, with an annual growth rate of 18%, becoming the fastest-growing track. Siasun Robot, through "AI + Robot" technology, has achieved a welding accuracy of ±0.02mm (a 50% improvement compared with traditional equipment). In 2024, its orders in the automotive industry exceeded 5,000 units, a threefold increase compared with the pre-pandemic period.
Intelligent Control System Sector: The scale hits RMB 70 billion, with an annual growth rate of 15%. Hollysys’ DCS system holds 35% market share in the power industry; through AI predictive maintenance, it has reduced equipment failure rates by 40% and operation and maintenance costs by 30%.
Industrial Software Sector: The scale reaches RMB 50 billion, with an annual growth rate of 20%. Dassault Systèmes’ PLM tools have a penetration rate of over 40% in new energy vehicle R&D, shortening the product development cycle by 30% and reducing R&D costs by 25%.
(II) Long-Term Leap: Market Size Targets RMB 400 Billion in 2030
In the next five years, the industry will present three core trends:
Technology Integration: AI, 5G, and Metaverse are reshaping production processes, making "software-defined manufacturing" a reality. Siemens’ industrial Metaverse content development tools reduce enterprises’ 3D modeling costs by more than 30%, and Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality technology increases HMI and PLC programming efficiency by 50%.
Regional Rebalancing: Chinese manufacturers have made breakthroughs in the hardware layer (PLC, servo systems), but the software ecosystem still requires a decade of accumulation. SUPCON’s industrial operating system "SupOS" connects over 100,000 industrial devices, benchmarking against Siemens’ MindSphere; however, the localization rate of PLM remains below 10%.
III. Future Market Outlook: Leap from "Scale Expansion" to "Value Deepening"
(I) Core Challenges: Industry Breakthrough in the VUCA Era
Geopolitical Risks: The rise of global trade protectionism; the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) increases the import cost of industrial automation equipment by 8%-12%, forcing enterprises to build regionalized production networks.
Technological Iteration: Metaverse technology is applied in industrial training to simulate complex production scenarios, increasing the pass rate of practical assessments by 30%, but technological stability still needs to be improved.
Green Transition: With the phasing out of subsidy policies for new energy industrial equipment, enterprises need to raise funds independently to complete equipment upgrades, requiring a 30% reduction in energy consumption per robot.
(II) Strategic Opportunities: Integrated Innovation of New Infrastructure and New Tracks
Digital New Infrastructure: The national special investment in industrial internet innovation and development exceeds RMB 100 billion, covering 20 hub cities and increasing the efficiency of 5G + Industrial Internet integrated applications by 40%.
Green New Tracks: Industrial products with carbon labels enjoy a premium of over 20%; demand for environmentally friendly packaging increases by 35% annually; enterprises’ ESG ratings are linked to financing costs.
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