China pushes ahead in robotics leaving UK and Europe at risk of manufacturing decline

Ford chief executive Jim Farley was left astounded following a recent tour of Chinese factories where technical innovation is at the heart of modern car production. Chinese vehicle manufacturing now incorporates advanced elements such as self-driving software and facial recognition, surpassing Western counterparts on both cost and quality. Concerns are rising amongst Western industry leaders who fear lagging behind may put the future of long-established brands at risk.

Executives returning from China have described an era of fully automated “dark factories,” where robots take over operations so extensively that there is no need for lighting. Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest recounted how Fortescue’s plans to develop electric vehicle powertrains shifted entirely after witnessing the seamless robotics in Chinese facilities. UK energy company Octopus’s CEO Greg Jackson has witnessed mass phone production handled almost exclusively by machines, with humans present only to monitor plant systems. Evidently, China’s competitive advantage has evolved from low wages and government subsidies to an extraordinary pace of technological innovation and a deep pool of highly skilled engineers.

The nation’s transformation from “workshop of the world” producing cheap exports, to global leader in sectors like electric vehicles, batteries, renewables, drones, and robotics, has been underpinned by vast investments in automation. Chinese state and local governments have incentivised the adoption of robotics with significant tax breaks and targeted policies such as the “jiqi huanren” approach, meaning “replacing humans with machines.” As a result, the industrial base has undergone a dramatic overhaul: in the last decade, industrial robot deployment in China soared from 189,000 to over two million units. The country now installs and operates more robots than any Western rival, with robot density at 567 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers, outstripping Germany, the US, and the UK.

This expansion is boosting productivity and giving China leverage in global supply chains. Automation in China is partly a response to an ageing population, designed to offset future labour shortfalls while providing an international edge. Local authorities often rebate a fifth of robotics investment for manufacturers, fast-tracking adoption and technological progress. Analysts warn that China’s ambition to dominate future industries isn’t just economic, but strategic, as robotics has spillover benefits for security as well as productivity.

The West, and Britain in particular, find themselves at a crossroads. Chinese-made electric cars are rapidly gaining market share in the UK, with brands such as BYD achieving exponential sales growth and beating established European rivals. These vehicles are winning praise for both affordability and quality, with Chinese manufacturers able to bring new models to market at twice the speed of their European counterparts. Yet the UK is struggling to keep pace, adding only a fraction of the industrial robots seen in China or even continental Europe, with last year’s British robotics uptake dropping by 35 per cent.

Experts argue Britain needs to prioritise investment in robotics and automation to close this gap. Tax incentives for capital equipment, rather than piecemeal support for speculative technologies, are urged as the surest route to boosting productivity and safeguarding industrial jobs. Evidence shows that nations embracing automation maintained stronger industrial employment during past shocks. The real risk for the UK and Europe lies in failing to modernise: without urgent action, Western factories might soon become dark not from efficiency, but from inactivity.