Rapid Growth of the Collaborative Robot Market is Transforming the Manufacturing Automation Paradigm
Editor
The global collaborative robot (cobot) market is experiencing explosive growth as it marks a new turning point in manufacturing automation by 2025. According to the latest report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the global cobot market size is expected to reach $15.4 billion in 2025, a 25.3% increase from the previous year, significantly surpassing the overall industrial robot market growth rate of 12.7%. The Asia-Pacific region is leading this growth, accounting for 47% of the total cobot market, with South Korea, China, and Japan forming the core axis. This rapid growth is driven by the accelerated digital transformation in manufacturing post-COVID-19, combined with rising labor costs and a shortage of skilled workers.
The most significant differentiating factor of collaborative robots is their ability to safely collaborate in the same workspace as humans, unlike traditional industrial robots. Since Universal Robots, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, first commercialized cobots in 2008, the technology has rapidly advanced with the integration of force control sensors, vision systems, and AI-based path planning. Universal Robots, a market leader, announced that it holds a 39% share of the global cobot market, with cumulative sales exceeding 75,000 units. ABB, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, maintains second place with an 18% market share through its GoFa and SWIFTI series, followed by FANUC from Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, with a 15% share through its CRX series.
The South Korean cobot market is also showing remarkable growth. According to the Korea Robotics Industry Association, the domestic cobot market size is expected to reach 850 billion won by 2025, a 32% increase from the previous year. Doosan Robotics, headquartered in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, leads the domestic cobot market, recording a 67% increase in sales to 45 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year. The company has secured an 8% share in the global market with its M series and A series cobots, establishing itself as the world’s fourth-largest company. Hyundai Robotics, located in Anyang, is also strengthening its domestic and international market penetration with its YL012 and YL020 models, announcing annual sales of 28 billion won in 2024.
Expansion and Application Cases of Cobot Adoption in Manufacturing Sites
The practical value of cobots is being proven on manufacturing floors. While traditional industrial robots are specialized for mass production and repetitive tasks, cobots excel in small-batch, multi-variety production and precision assembly tasks. According to the latest survey by KUKA, based in Augsburg, Germany, 73% of manufacturers that adopted cobots reported increased productivity, and 68% experienced improved quality. The use of cobots is particularly surging in the automotive parts, electronics, and medical device sectors, which account for 62% of the total cobot market.
The case of Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant is regarded as a representative success model of cobot utilization. The company automated bolt fastening and parts assembly tasks by introducing 45 units of Doosan Robotics’ M1013 model to its engine assembly line starting in 2024. As a result, task precision improved to 99.7%, and the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders among workers decreased by 35%. Samsung Electronics’ Suwon plant is also automating screw fastening and adhesive application tasks in the Galaxy smartphone assembly process using Universal Robots’ UR10e model, reducing assembly time by 22%.
The adoption of cobots is rapidly expanding among small and medium-sized enterprises as well. According to a survey by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Smart Manufacturing Innovation Promotion Team, the number of small manufacturing companies adopting cobots in the first half of 2025 increased by 41% year-on-year to 2,847. Daeshin Precision, an automotive parts company based in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, reported a 50% increase in production from 800 to 1,200 units per day and a significant improvement in defect rates from 2.3% to 0.8% after automating gear grinding tasks with Yaskawa Electric’s HC10DT model. These results demonstrate that the return on investment (ROI) for cobots is an average of 18 months, much faster than the 36 months for traditional industrial robots.
The core of cobot technology lies in the fusion of AI and sensor technologies. The latest cobots integrate RGB-D cameras, LiDAR, and torque sensors to recognize and adapt to the work environment in real-time. Techman Robot, headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, achieved a vision recognition accuracy of 98.5% with its TM AI+ system and offers a feature that allows tasks to be learned through demonstration without programming. Yaskawa Electric, based in Kitakyushu, Japan, announced that its MotoMINI series, equipped with proprietary smart pendant technology, reduced setup time by 70% compared to previous models.
Market Competition and Technological Innovation Trends
The competitive landscape of the global cobot market features a confrontation between the technological superiority of leading companies and the price competitiveness of newcomers. According to the Robotics Industry Association (RIA), the average selling price of cobots is expected to decrease by 23% from $72,000 in 2020 to $55,000 in 2025. This is the result of intensified price competition due to the market entry of Chinese and Korean companies. JAKA Robotics, based in Beijing, China, is pioneering the low-cost cobot market with its Zu series priced in the $30,000 range, experiencing rapid growth in the Asian market and achieving a 6% global market share in 2024.
In terms of technological innovation, increasing payload and expanding work radius are emerging as major trends. Universal Robots announced the release of the UR30 model in December 2024, offering a payload of 30kg and a work radius of 1.3m, significantly enhancing the ability to handle heavy objects, which was previously considered a limitation of cobots. ABB’s GoFa series achieves a speed of 2.2m/s with a maximum payload of 5kg, implementing a 40% faster work speed compared to existing cobots. FANUC’s CRX-25iA model expands the cobot application range to heavy-duty areas such as automotive parts assembly with a 25kg payload and a 1.85m work radius.
Software technology is also emerging as a key factor in cobot competitiveness. Doosan Robotics provides an intuitive drag-and-drop programming environment through its DART Studio platform, building a one-stop solution with integrated vision systems and force control functions. Hyundai Robotics has applied an open architecture based on ROS2 to its Hi6 controller, enhancing interoperability with third-party solutions. Techman Robot’s TMflow software improves usability by allowing non-experts to set up basic tasks within 30 minutes using flowchart-based programming.
Cloud-based remote monitoring and predictive maintenance features are also gaining attention as new added values of cobots. Universal Robots’ UR+ platform connects over 50,000 cobots, collecting real-time performance data and predicting component replacement times an average of two weeks in advance through machine learning algorithms. ABB’s Ability cloud service showed an improvement in cobot utilization from 92% to 96%. Yaskawa Electric achieved an average 15% improvement in overall equipment efficiency (OEE) for its customers through production optimization services using cobot data.
The future outlook for the cobot market is very positive. The McKinsey Global Institute predicts that the cobot market will grow at an average annual rate of 23% to reach $42 billion by 2030. The expansion into non-manufacturing sectors such as logistics, healthcare, and services is expected to accelerate. Amazon announced plans to add 10,000 cobots to its logistics centers by 2025, and Johns Hopkins Medical Center is improving surgical accuracy through the introduction of cobots for operating room support. However, challenges such as high initial investment costs, a shortage of technical personnel, and strengthened safety regulations also exist. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) plans to announce the cobot safety standard ISO 10218-3 in the second half of 2025, which is expected to be a new variable in market growth.
The rapid growth of the collaborative robot market is bringing widespread changes not only to manufacturing but also to the entire industrial ecosystem. The new work environment where humans and robots collaborate is establishing itself as an innovative solution that can simultaneously improve productivity and enhance worker safety. With the advancement of AI technology, the autonomy and intelligence of cobots are expected to improve further, opening a new paradigm in manufacturing automation.
