The European Union's automotive industry recorded a 5% year-on-year decline in industrial robot installations in 2024, with only 30,650 units deployed across the bloc's vehicle-producing countries. This contraction comes despite the automotive sector traditionally accounting for approximately one-quarter of all global robot installations, according to the World Robotics 2025 Industrial Robots report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The downturn marks a significant shift for an industry that has historically been at the forefront of automation adoption.
Germany, the EU's largest vehicle producer with output exceeding 4 million units in 2024, experienced a particularly sharp reduction in robotics investment. The country's automotive sector installed just 6,932 industrial robots last year, representing a 25% decrease compared to 2023. More notably, Germany's share of domestic robot installations attributed to automotive has fallen substantially from 35% in 2021 to just 26% in 2024, indicating a broader trend of declining automation investment in what was once Europe's robotics powerhouse.
The robotics pullback extends across most major EU automotive manufacturing nations. Spain, the bloc's second-largest vehicle producer, saw a 1% decrease to 2,279 installations, while the Czech Republic recorded a 28% decline to 1,116 units. France experienced a 41% reduction to 1,018 installations, and Slovakia's deployments plummeted 75% to just 398 units. Hungary emerged as a notable exception, installing 3,573 industrial robots and bucking the regional trend of declining automation investment.
This European contraction contrasts sharply with global robotics trends, where total installations reached 542,076 units in 2024—more than double the figure from a decade earlier. Asia accounted for 74% of new deployments, with China alone representing 54% of global installations at 295,000 units. The divergent trajectories highlight how regional economic conditions, supply chain considerations, and investment priorities are creating increasingly distinct automation landscapes across major manufacturing hubs worldwide.
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), Germany's largest naval shipbuilder, made a strong debut on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Monday, with shares trading significantly above initial expectations. The stock opened at €60 per share, far surpassing analyst forecasts of approximately €36, and...
Swiss cement conglomerate Holcim has agreed to acquire German building materials manufacturer Xella for €1.85 billion, marking a significant strategic move in the European construction sector. The transaction, announced on Monday, is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2026,...
Berlin police deployed approximately 130 officers in a major operation to secure the eviction of a partially occupied residential building in the city's Mitte district near the Federal Intelligence Service and Natural History Museum. The operation, which has now concluded, saw police officers...
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Sunday evening, forming a sea of lights with mobile phone torches and lighters to protest for diversity and against racism. The rally came just days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made controversial comments about...
The mood in Germany's residential construction sector has improved to its highest level in over three years, according to the latest Ifo Institute survey. The business climate index for housing construction rose sharply in September to -21.8 points, up from -26.4 points in August, marking the...
