Industry sales will thus rise to 16.8 billion euros – a new record high.

Frankfurt, Germany, 18 December, 2023 – The robotics and automation industry in Germany is forecasting a 4% increase in turnover for 2024. According to the latest figures from the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association (VDMA R+A), industry sales will thus rise to 16.8 billion euros – a new record high.

Frank Konrad, Chairman of VDMA R+A, comments: "The positive forecast for 2024 shows that robotics and automation will remain on course for growth – despite an environment characterised by considerable uncertainty. Our industry plays a crucial role as a key technology in overcoming a wide range of challenges such as demographic change, the transformation to climate neutrality and the strengthening of resilience and competitiveness. We are optimistic that the innovative strength of our member companies will help us to successfully overcome these challenges."

The VDMA represents more than 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation  and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 860 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.

The VDMA Robotics + Automation Association (VDMA R+A) is a trade association within the umbrella of the VDMA with more than 380 member companies: Suppliers of components and systems from the fields of robotics, integrated assembly solutions and machine vision. The aim of this industry-driven platform is to support robotics and automation through a wide range of activities and services. Key activities include statistical analysis and market surveys, marketing activities, standards development, public relations, trend studies, trade fair policy as well as networking events and conferences.