<p>The International Federation of Robotics reported a new milestone on 24 September 2026: more than five million industrial robots were operating in factories worldwide at the end of 2025. The organisation counted 5.079 million units in operational stock and 603,000 new installations during the year, an 11% increase. The figures cover industrial robots in factories, not software bots or every kind of autonomous machine.</p> <p>The more interesting change is where demand is coming from. IFR reported that electronics and automotive installations each increased by 10%, while metal and machinery grew by 22%. Its World Robotics presentation also described the centre of gravity shifting from automotive toward general industry, with AI, machine vision, sensing, data-driven optimisation, and easier programming expanding the range of feasible applications.</p> <p>That does not mean that a robot automatically produces a return. A cell is an engineered system with a gripper, fixture, vision or sensing layer, safety controls, software, maintenance plan, operator training, and a process capable of supplying repeatable work. A robot supplier may be technically strong while the integrator, tooling, service coverage, or local skills are not yet adequate for the intended production environment.</p> <p>For supplier evaluation, the useful comparison is therefore not only robot payload, reach, or cycle time. Buyers should ask for application evidence, integration responsibility, safety validation, changeover performance, spare-parts support, cybersecurity controls, and the assumptions behind the claimed productivity. The global number tells us that adoption is accelerating; it does not remove the need for programme-specific qualification.</p> <p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/five-million-robots-now-operate-in-factories-globally" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2026</a>.</p> <p><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://supplybridge.com/automotive-supplier-discovery">evidence-led supplier discovery</a>.</p>