According to IFR, sales of industrial robots in India reached a new record of 4,771 new units installed in 2018. That is an increase of 39 percent compared to the previous year (2017: 3,412 units). India now ranks eleventh worldwide in terms of annual installations. “India is one of the strongest growing economies among the emerging markets in Asia – said Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robotics -. Whilst the recent global results were quite moderate, India saw an impressive growth rate of 39% in 2018. The number of robot installations has been growing rapidly for several years now. Between 2013 and 2018, India saw a compound annual growth rate of 20%”. Prospects for further increasing robot installations are promising. The Indian GDP is expected to grow by more than 7% in 2019 and companies across many industries intend to expand capacities. As IFR explains, India has a young population, hence a strong workforce in need of jobs. The country needs to expand its manufacturing industry to create more job opportunities. Higher wages and the rising share of affluent citizens in India are the main drivers of a growing and promising consumer market. The automotive industry remains the largest customer industry by far, with a share of 44% of total installations. But the strongest growth driver in 2018 was the general industry, increasing by 28%, consisting of the rubber and plastics industry, the metal industry and the electrical/electronics industry.
