SHANGHAI -- An industry report has revealed that Chinese robotics firms emerged as the largest producers of humanoid robots worldwide in 2025, highlighting the country's rapid rise in this emerging manufacturing sector.

Shanghai-based AgiBot achieved an annual shipment volume of over 5,100 units, securing a 39 percent share of the global humanoid robot market and ranking first in the world for both shipment volume and market share, according to the report released on Thursday by Omdia, a tech consultancy in London.

It was followed by Hangzhou-based Unitree and Shenzhen-based UBTECH, which recorded shipment volumes of 4,200 and 1,000 units, respectively. AgiBot and UBTECH focus on commercial and industrial applications, while Unitree's robots are widely deployed in research, education and consumer markets.

Last year, other major Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers such as Leju Robot, EngineAI and Fourier, along with U.S. counterparts including Figure AI, Agility Robotics and Tesla, achieved shipment volumes ranging from 150 to 500 units each. Global annual shipments are estimated to have reached approximately 13,000 units.

In terms of product competitiveness, AgiBot, Figure AI, Tesla, UBTECH and Unitree are considered first-tier players, according to the report titled "General-purpose Embodied Intelligent Robots."

Chinese robotics makers, including EngineAI and UBTECH, are planning to ramp up their production output.

The year 2026 marks a critical turning point for the robotics industry from simply "handling many tasks with limited proficiency" to truly "accomplishing tasks with high performance and achieving practical application," said Luo Jianlan, chief scientist at AgiBot.

"The more robots deployed, the more valuable real-world data is gathered, enabling the training of better models," Luo added.