The growth has been happening since 2017 with carmakers being the biggest buyers. Automakers have comprised 22 per cent of the installations with the metal industry close behind, the report said..

The operational stock of robots in the automotive industry accounted for 32 per cent of the total stock in France and amounted to 17,597 units.

 The stock of robots in the metal and machinery industry accounted for 16 per cent of the total stock and increased by 20 per cent to 9,075 units in 2022. The stock of robots in the plastic and chemical products industry increased by 11 per cent to 6,077 units.

The International Federation of Robotics predicts that the French robotics market is expected to grow by a mid-single-digit rate in 2023 and remain at about 7,000 installations per year from 2024 onwards.

While the supply chain bottlenecks are slowly easing up, the financing costs are rising thus dampening the propensity to invest. The €100 billion stimulus package for investment in smart factory equipment that came into effect in mid-2021 will support demand for industrial robots over the next few years, but there are currently just a few investments announced by the automotive industry up to 2025. It is instead general industry that will continue with the modernization and decarbonization of its production capacity, the report said.