Interact Analysis expects collaborative robot shipments to grow at an average annual rate of 17.3% between 2025 and 2030, with volumes forecast to almost double to 128,918 units by the end of the period.
The market intelligence company said cobot shipments rose 14.5% in 2025 to around 57,000 units, while revenue increased from approximately $1.1bn to more than $1.2bn. Growth was supported by large-scale equipment upgrades in electronics manufacturing, cyclical recovery in semiconductors, and higher automation penetration in logistics and warehousing.
Revenue is expected to grow more slowly than shipment volumes, indicating further pressure on average selling prices. Interact Analysis forecasts collaborative robot revenue to rise by an average of 13.6% a year to more than $2.3bn in 2030, with price declines slowing as Chinese competition stabilises and manufacturing costs rise in Europe and the US.
China remains the dominant regional market and is expected to extend that lead over the forecast period. Its share of cobot shipments increased from 28.9% in 2018 to 54.7% in 2025, and is forecast to reach 61.4% by 2030. The Americas’ shipment share is expected to fall from 15.9% to 13.7% between 2025 and 2030, while EMEA is forecast to decline from 18.1% to 13.5%.
Volume growth is also being accompanied by a shift in the technical profile of the market. Cobots have traditionally been concentrated in lighter payload ranges of 10kg and below, but Interact Analysis said the sector is moving towards medium and high-payload systems, particularly in the 16kg to 20kg and above-20kg segments.
“This upward payload shift aligns closely with vendor product strategies. Examples include ABB’s PoWa series for the Chinese market and JAKA’s 40 kg model (with a 90 kg model in development), both designed with higher payloads and reduced force control precision,” said Samantha Mou, Senior Analyst at Interact Analysis. “These ‘industrial cobots’ essentially penetrate traditional industrial robot applications while retaining collaborative safety features, targeting scenarios such as automotive parts, metal processing, and warehousing & logistics that require high payload, cost effective automation.”
As payloads increase, collaborative robots are beginning to occupy a wider section of the automation market. Applications once dominated by conventional industrial robots are becoming accessible to collaborative systems where manufacturers need flexible deployment, lower integration barriers, and a reduced guarding footprint.
Further details are available from Interact Analysis’ collaborative robots report announcement.
