Industrial automation, as the core engine of manufacturing upgrading, deeply reflects a country's technological capability and industrial ecosystem in the field of high-end equipment. At present, China's industrial automation market is undergoing a structural transformation from "foreign-dominated" to "domestic rise," and different subsegments display an obvious stratified competitive pattern.
I. Market Status: a Clear Stratified Competitive Pattern with Domestic and Foreign Brands Each Holding Ground
Comprehensive market research data show that each subsegment of industrial automation now presents a clearer market structure, and domestic brands have achieved important breakthroughs in multiple areas. In the servo systems sector, Inovance leads with 28.2% market share and has become the clear market leader. Other Chinese brands also show competitiveness: HSC focuses on high-end applications such as photovoltaics and robotics, and Estun's servo systems are highly matched with its own robots, leading the robotics industry in market share. Siemens accounts for only 10.4%, followed by Yaskawa, Mitsubishi Electric and Delta. These figures indicate that domestic brands collectively occupy 57% of the servo systems market and have become the dominant force.
The low-voltage inverter market shows a three-way rivalry with Inovance at 22.0%, ABB at 16.9% and Siemens at 15.2% as the main players. As the domestic representative, Inovance has already established a leading position, demonstrating strong market competitiveness. Other competitive local brands include INVT and Delta, which together with foreign brands such as Schneider Electric and Mitsubishi Electric form a diversified competitive landscape.
The small PLC market remains Siemens' domain, with Siemens holding 42.3% of the market. Among Chinese brands, Inovance's small PLC market share is about 7.0%, ranking fourth; Xinje Electric has notably increased its share through a "PLC+servo" integrated strategy in textile machinery and packaging machinery. Other brands together account for 57.7%, indicating that in basic control areas international brands still hold significant technical advantages and customer stickiness.
In the mid-to-large PLC segment, Siemens maintains absolute dominance with a 44.2% share, followed by Omron with 9.6%, Mitsubishi Electric with 7.1% and Rockwell with 5.7%. Inovance's mid-to-large PLC share is around 5.1%, ranking sixth, and it is attempting to break foreign monopolies by launching large PLC products with functional safety. Other brands combined account for 33.4%.
The industrial robot market is the most fragmented, with smaller brands collectively holding 62.8%. Estun, FANUC, KUKA and Inovance rank among the leaders with shares of 10%, 9.5%, 9.5% and 8.2% respectively. This illustrates that the industrial robot market remains in a state of many competitors and an unsettled structure. It is noteworthy that Inovance's SCARA robots reach 20.4% market share in China, ranking first in that segment and demonstrating the ability to break through in specialized niches. Meanwhile, ROKAE achieved growth exceeding 70% in the first half of 2025 and has successfully joined the ranks of the "top four domestic robot makers," driven primarily by breakthroughs in small six-axis and collaborative robots applied to high-value scenarios such as welding and polishing.
II. In-Depth Analysis: Localization Is Accelerating, but Gaps Remain in High-End Areas
From the data it is clear that China's industrial automation market is undergoing profound change. In servo systems and low-voltage inverters, domestic brands represented by Inovance have achieved market leadership, and this success stems from several factors. Domestic products generally offer competitive technical performance at prices typically 20%–30% lower than international brands, which is highly attractive to China's cost-sensitive manufacturing sector. Through independent R&D, Inovance has mastered core servo technologies and enabled substitution for brands such as Siemens and Mitsubishi Electric. Local enterprises can also deliver faster technical support, more flexible customization and shorter delivery cycles, better meeting the rapid iteration needs of Chinese manufacturers; for example, Inovance has provided servo solutions to leading companies including BYD and CATL, and its products have gained customer recognition. Policy support is also strong: national initiatives such as Made in China 2025 and the Industrial Green Development Plan emphasize motor system efficiency improvements and provide subsidies of 10%–15% for high-efficiency motors, which promote the adoption of variable frequency drives.
However, in PLCs-especially mid-to-large PLCs, which entail higher technical barriers-international brands remain dominant. Siemens' advantage in this field is obvious and its 44.2% market share reflects deep accumulation and technical strength in complex control systems. This indicates that domestic brands still need to overcome core technological bottlenecks in high-end industrial control. Inovance itself admits that large PLC products require prolonged refinement and that a gap remains relative to foreign competitors. At the same time, the localization of core components is accelerating: for example, the RV reducer, known as the "heart" of industrial robots, saw domestic manufacturers' market share exceed 60% in 2024, with Double-Ring Transmission reaching 25% and entering the supply chains of major international robot OEMs.
III. Future Trends: Intelligence, Integration and Ecosystem-Based Competition
The future of industrial automation will be characterized by three major trends: accelerated intelligent upgrading, integrated solutions becoming mainstream, and competition increasingly driven by ecosystems. As artificial intelligence and digital twin technologies mature, industrial automation systems are evolving from mere execution control to intelligent decision-making; future automation systems will not only execute commands but also analyze data, enable predictive maintenance and perform autonomous optimization. Inovance has made progress in integrating industrial AI with its products and has completed the architecture of the iFA platform, forming a full-chain industrial AI software system. Integrated solutions are becoming the mainstream, where competition based on single products gradually gives way to competition for comprehensive solutions. Inovance has extended from inverters and servo systems into PLCs and industrial robots to build a full product lineup and provide one-stop solutions. Its servo systems adopt adaptive control and intelligent algorithms to increase torque output by 25%, improve precision by 30% and achieve millisecond-level response, making them suitable for precision manufacturing scenarios such as 3C electronics and semiconductors. Ecosystem-based competition is also taking shape: Siemens leverages full-stack hardware-to-software capabilities to construct its ecosystem; domestic firms such as Inovance are building industrial internet platforms like iFA to integrate upstream and downstream resources; and ROKAE relies on its xCore control system to develop the ROKAE+ platform, opening core control capabilities to ecosystem partners via standardized interfaces and thus forming a stable closed loop of downstream application traction, midstream platform construction and upstream tool enhancement.
IV. Challenges and Opportunities for Domestic Brands
Although domestic industrial automation brands have made remarkable progress, they still face multiple challenges. Core technologies still need breakthroughs in areas such as high-end chips, real-time operating systems and precision algorithms. Brand influence needs strengthening, as international brands still enjoy higher trust and price premiums among high-end and multinational clients. Talent reserves are insufficient, particularly in terms of high-end R&D personnel and interdisciplinary compound talents, which constrains innovation and product upgrading.
Nevertheless, domestic brands also face historic opportunities. The wave of manufacturing transformation and upgrading brings expanded market demand; manufacturing investment in China grew 7.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. Under the strategy of ensuring autonomy and controllability, policy measures continue to incentivize equipment renewal and digital transformation, driving capital expenditure recovery. Technological revolutions also present opportunities for leapfrog development: leading domestic firms such as Inovance are already investing in frontier areas, including high-power low-voltage drives, frameless torque motors, actuator modules, planetary roller screws and upper-limb components for humanoid robots, focusing on scenario-based industrial solutions.
Conclusion: The Landscape Is Unsettled, but Opportunities Remain
The industrial automation market is at the brink of transformation. On one hand, domestic brands have progressed from following to leading in servo systems and low-voltage inverters; on the other hand, international brands retain strong advantages in high-end PLCs and industrial software. Future market competition will no longer be limited to individual products but will encompass comprehensive strengths in technological depth, product ecosystems, industry insight and service capability. Domestic companies must consolidate advantages in mid- and low-end markets while bravely entering high-end segments, maintain cost-performance advantages while enhancing brand value, and deepen local market penetration while nurturing a global outlook. Only by doing so can they secure advantageous positions as the global industrial automation landscape is reshaped. With continued R&D investment such as Inovance's R&D expenditure of CNY 1.966 billion in the first half of 2025 (up 33.47% year-on-year) and active overseas expansion with overseas revenue of approximately CNY 1.32 billion in the same period (up 39% year-on-year), China's industrial automation brands are poised to further strengthen their global competitiveness.
