Schaeffler's humanoid robotics orders reach €400M following new Chinese customer wins

German motion technology group Schaeffler has increased its humanoid robotics orders on hand to approximately €400 million, supported by the addition of two customers in Greater China during the third quarter of 2026. The figure was disclosed on 13 October alongside preliminary nine-month financial results, with CEO Klaus Rosenfeld confirming continued growth in the company’s humanoid business. Schaeffler did not identify the two new customers or disclose their individual contract values. The €400 million represents orders on hand rather than recognised revenue or completed component deliveries.

Schaeffler has established a growing network of humanoid manufacturers through component supply, joint development and industrial deployment agreements. Its November 2025 partnership with NEURA Robotics covers the development and supply of compact actuators, alongside plans to integrate a mid-four-digit number of NEURA humanoids into Schaeffler’s factories by 2035. In January 2026, it entered a separate agreement with UK-based Humanoid to develop and supply actuators for wheeled and bipedal robots, while initially planning to deploy several hundred humanoids across its production network over five years.

An April agreement with Switzerland’s Hexagon Robotics added the development and supply of precision rotary actuators for AEON humanoids, alongside Schaeffler’s plan to deploy at least 1,000 AEON units across its global factories by 2032. The agreement includes strain-wave and planetary-geared actuators for major robot joints. Schaeffler has also expanded its Chinese partnerships through Leju Robotics, ROKAE and Qianxun Intelligence, covering industrial humanoid applications, joint-module development, component supply and embodied-AI data collection. A separate partnership with Vietnam’s VinDynamics covers planetary gearbox development and supply. The company has not disclosed which existing relationships contribute to the reported €400 million order book.

Schaeffler is developing the manufacturing infrastructure and component portfolio needed to serve these programmes. In February, it established a dedicated humanoid robotics subsidiary in Taicang, China, focused on components, subsystems, data collection and industrialisation services. Its portfolio spans rotary actuators, motors, precision gearboxes, bearings, sensors and power-management technologies. In August, the company introduced formed strain-wave gearboxes for humanoid joints, claiming manufacturing cost reductions exceeding 25% and material savings exceeding 75%, with mass-production rollout planned for 2027.

Schaeffler’s humanoid strategy also involves using robots within its own manufacturing operations, providing industrial environments for testing hardware, collecting application data and refining automation systems.