TLDRs;
Contents
- China’s mid-sized manufacturers are becoming a major growth engine for industrial robots, and ABB is moving fast to meet that demand.
- ABB’s new robot families are priced for accessibility and designed for easy deployment without advanced technical skills.
- Despite trade tensions, ABB is doubling down on its China strategy, banking on strong local demand and demographic tailwinds.
- A planned spin-off of ABB’s robotics division in 2026 underscores the firm’s long-term confidence in this growing sector.
Swiss engineering powerhouse ABB is intensifying its focus on China’s mid-sized manufacturing sector, rolling out three new families of industrial robots designed to lower the barrier to automation.
The new models, named Lite+, PoWa, and IRB1200, reflect ABB’s shift toward a rapidly growing customer base that has traditionally been underserved in the high-end robotics market.
The new robots are tailored for essential factory-floor tasks such as polishing, pick-and-place operations, and packaging. What sets them apart is a streamlined user experience that enables deployment within an hour of unpacking.
ABB has also introduced intuitive control features including voice-command programming and task observation, allowing companies without deep technical expertise to adopt automation with ease. Price points range from $20,000 to over $100,000, making them more accessible than ABB’s traditional offerings.
Mid-Sized Firms Emerge as Automation Hotspot
China has become a critical frontier for global robotics players, with more than half of all new industrial robots installed there in 2023. ABB’s strategic pivot toward mid-sized manufacturers is a direct response to projections showing this segment will grow at an annual rate of 8 percent, a pace that far exceeds the broader industry average. With labor shortages and rising wages squeezing margins, automation has quickly shifted from a luxury to a necessity for many Chinese factories.
ABB’s Chief of Robotics Sami Atiya recently emphasized that despite economic uncertainties and looming US tariffs, domestic demand in China remains robust. The structural nature of China’s labor challenges and strong internal consumption patterns are driving consistent interest in automation solutions. ABB’s ongoing investment in China aligns with its “in China, for China and the world” strategy, which has long guided its localized production efforts.
Shanghai Factory Remains Central to ABB’s Strategy
ABB’s $150 million robotics facility in Shanghai, announced in 2018, continues to play a central role in this expansion. Known for deploying a “robots making robots” approach, the factory produces 90 percent of ABB’s China-bound robots, giving the company a competitive edge in both cost and speed of delivery.
The localization of production has become even more critical amid supply chain disruptions and increasing geopolitical fragmentation.
By focusing on mid-tier manufacturers that previously lacked the capital or technical skills to automate, ABB is staking out territory in a market often overlooked by robotics firms competing for large-scale industrial contracts. The plug-and-play nature of these new robots gives ABB a clear differentiator in a crowded field.
Spin-Off on the Horizon as ABB Prepares for Growth
The release of these new robot families also comes ahead of ABB’s planned spin-off of its robotics division, which is slated for the second quarter of 2026. As competition intensifies with players like FANUC, KUKA, and Yaskawa, ABB appears to be reinforcing its market position before going independent. Currently, ABB holds between 14 to 21 percent of global market share in industrial robotics.
The company’s push into the mid-market segment could significantly bolster its valuation ahead of the spin-off. The inclusion of AI-powered capabilities in 80 percent of its robotic systems demonstrates how ABB is aligning with evolving industry standards centered around intelligence, usability, and speed of deployment.
