Sales of mobile robots in intralogistics are increasing worldwide

The IFR annual report shows a total of 200,000 units sold in the service robot sector. With a share of 51 percent, no other sector has more robots than transportation and logistics. Of the units sold, around 81,800 are mobile robots for intralogistics applications. These robots transport materials and goods both indoors and outdoors, are used in production supply or warehousing or for loading and unloading trucks or pallets.

Origin of mobile robots

Most mobile robots for intralogistics come from the Asia-Pacific region with almost 84%, followed by Europe with 11% and North and South America with 5%. Direct sales remain the most important sales channel. "Robot-as-a-service" offerings are still in the minority, but increased by 42% in 2024 compared to the previous year. - We are seeing great demand for automation solutions with mobile robotics. At the same time, these projects often require considerable investment and capacity on the customer side. Simplifying the framework conditions for commissioning and use is and remains a key task for suppliers and customers. This is a dialog that the VDMA is supporting with numerous measures, - says Sascha Schmel, Managing Director of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.

Background to the "World Robotics" annual report

The market data in the World Robotics Report is sample data. The data is not extrapolated to the entire industry. All figures from the annual report World Robotics 2025 - Service Robots are based on a sample of 294 companies. The VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association, in cooperation with the IFR, provides information on market developments in the field of mobile robotics in intralogistics.

The complete annual report "World Robotics 2025 - Service Robots" contains the data in cooperation with Fraunhofer IPA, a detailed analysis of service robotics in the respective application classes, a market assessment, expert interviews and a complete list of all service robot manufacturers known to the IFR. You can find out more about the structure and content of the report at https://ifr.org/wr-service-robots/. The current annual report can be obtained directly from the IFR: https://ifr.org/worldrobotics

Source: VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics, International Federation of Robotics (IFR).