China’s humanoid supply chain

China combines large humanoid production volumes with domestic motor, reducer, hand and sensor suppliers. Unitree reported about 18,000 cumulative bipedal humanoids in August 2026, AgiBot reached 20,000 robots in September, and component suppliers report growing orders and high utilisation. Precision manufacturing equipment and downstream magnet processing shape the supply chain.

Robot production & industrialisation

Chinese vendors accounted for more than 90% of global humanoid production in 2025. The five largest producers were all Chinese and together accounted for about 70%.

Sources

The top-five producers are included in the Chinese-vendor total. Interact Analysis estimates units produced, grouped by vendor origin.

Interact Analysis · Humanoid Robots 2026 · 2026-06-11
Research estimate

AgiBot reaches 20,000 robots produced

AgiBot reached 20,000 cumulative robots produced in September 2026. Its 20,000th unit was delivered to Chimelong on 24 September. Separately, the company cited IDC estimates of more than 8,600 humanoids shipped in H1 2026, approximately 35% of global shipments.

Sources

Company-reported cumulative production; H1 shipments and share are IDC estimates cited by AgiBot.

AgiBot · production milestone and IDC shipment data · 2026-09-30
Company announcement or operating disclosure

AgiBot · Chimelong launch release · 2026-09-24
Company announcement or operating disclosure

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Unitree reaches about 18,000 bipedal humanoids produced

Unitree reported approximately 18,000 bipedal humanoid robots produced cumulatively by 12 August 2026. The count covers bionic bipedal models across its humanoid range.

Sources

Company-reported production; the announcement excludes wheeled platforms and other humanoid formats.

Unitree · cumulative production announcement · 2026-08-12
Company announcement or operating disclosure

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UBTECH commissions its Liuzhou factory

UBTECH’s Liuzhou humanoid factory entered production on 12 September 2026, with planned annual capacity above 10,000 robots. Separately, UBTECH reported 921 full-size humanoid units sold in H1 2026 across a portfolio including wheeled and bipedal models.

Sources

September factory commissioning and planned capacity; H1 portfolio unit sales.

Sina Finance · Liuzhou factory opening · 2026-09-14
Company announcement reported by Sina Finance; interim filing

UBTECH · 2026 interim report, p. 12 · 2026-09-02
Company announcement reported by Sina Finance; interim filing

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XPENG commissions automated IRON production lines

XPENG commissioned its IRON humanoid production lines in September 2026, reporting automation of more than 80% of core processes. The company is transferring automotive manufacturing methods into robot assembly and completed the first robot from the new lines.

Sources

The announcement gives no annual capacity or cumulative production figure.

XPENG · IRON production-line commissioning · 2026-09-08
Company announcement or operating disclosure

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EngineAI starts T800 production in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou

The first Henan-built T800 batch came off EngineAI’s Zhengzhou line on 24 July 2026. Its Honghualing plant in Shenzhen opened in May with 12,000 m² of manufacturing space and a reported line cadence of one robot every 15 minutes.

Sources

July first-batch milestone in Zhengzhou; May facility area and line cadence in Shenzhen.

Dingduan News · first Zhengzhou T800 batch · 2026-07-24
Local production report and company announcement

EngineAI · Shenzhen manufacturing base · 2026-05-29
Local production report and company announcement

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Leju and Dongfang Precision open a 10,000-unit-scale line

Leju and Dongfang Precision opened their Guangdong humanoid line on 29 March 2026. Dongfang reports annual capacity above 10,000 robots and a cadence of one robot every 30 minutes. The flexible line supports mixed-model assembly, with 24 assembly processes, 77 inspection checks and 41 final test conditions.

Sources

Company-stated annual line capacity and cadence at the March opening.

Dongfang Precision · production-line opening · 2026-03-31
Company operating announcement

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CATL supplies batteries and operates Galbot S1

Galbot S1 entered CATL’s module and battery-pack production lines for material handling and picking. CATL supplies the robot’s batteries and is extending its NING service network to robot maintenance. The June agreement connects battery supply, factory use and aftermarket support.

Sources

Customer-disclosed production-line use and battery supply.

CATL · Galbot strategic cooperation · 2026-06-24
Company operating announcement

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Hesai reports LiDAR orders from Galaxea

Hesai named Galaxea, Galbot and Unitree among robotics customers generating new LiDAR orders in Q2 2026. Its JT128 collaborations span more than 50 embodied-AI companies, connecting several Chinese robot manufacturers to the same perception supplier.

Sources

Supplier-reported orders and programme coverage; customer-level quantities are undisclosed.

Hesai · Q2 2026 financial results · 2026-08-18
Company operating announcement

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Dobot begins third-batch ATOM deliveries

Dobot began production and delivery of its third batch of full-size industrial ATOM humanoids in February 2026.

Sources

Third-batch production and delivery announcement; batch quantity undisclosed.

Gasgoo · third ATOM production batch · 2026-02-04
Company production announcement reported by Gasgoo

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MagicLab partners with LY iTECH on robot manufacturing

MagicLab and Lingyi Robotics, LY iTECH’s robotics subsidiary, agreed to cooperate on robot manufacturing, production-line expansion and overseas growth. The agreement links MagicLab’s robot programmes with a precision manufacturer supplying components and complete-robot assembly.

Sources

Announced manufacturing cooperation; contracted unit volume undisclosed.

Gasgoo · LY iTECH and MagicLab agreement · 2026-02-02
Manufacturing agreement reported by Gasgoo

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Booster reports more than 700 robots shipped

Booster reported more than 700 humanoid robots shipped by October 2025, serving over 200 customers in more than 20 countries. Its customer base included more than 70 universities and research institutions, alongside the launch of the smaller K1 platform.

Sources

Company-reported cumulative shipments as of October 2025.

Booster Robotics · K1 launch and shipment update · 2025-10-30
Company operating announcement

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Luxshare reports robot deliveries above 10,000 a year

Luxshare reported a delivery scale above 10,000 robots a year across its contract manufacturing, joint development and original-design programmes. The figure covers its robotics business without a humanoid-only breakdown. Its separate plan to introduce robots into its own factories targets a 10,000-unit scale over the following two to three years.

Sources

The briefing reports an annual delivery scale, without a calendar-year shipment total or robot-format split. The internal deployment target is separate from deliveries. No named customer or supplier edge is established.

Luxshare · investor briefing, PDF p. 8 · 2026-08-27
Listed-company investor briefing

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Companies by role

Robot production

Industrial & research platforms

Motors & actuation

Precision gearing

Hands & sensing

Contract assembly

More robot programmes

Component production & orders

LY iTECH adds contract-assembly scale

LY iTECH records assembly of more than 5,000 humanoid (embodied) robots in its 2025 company history. Its robotics business combines precision components, modules and complete-robot assembly for other manufacturers.

Sources

Assembly total reported under 2025 in the company history, checked 10 October 2026.

LY iTECH · company history, 2025
Company history

Component details →

Leadshine motor shipments and orders

Leadshine reports more than 120,000 frameless torque motors shipped in 2025. In July 2026, its frameless-motor order book exceeded one million units. The 2025 shipment count covers applications across its business.

Sources

Leadshine reports the order total in an update on humanoid demand. It gives no corresponding delivery volume.

Leadshine · CCTV Finance update · 2026-07-30
Company-reported

Leadshine · Automate 2026 update · 2026-07-01
Company-reported

Component details →

Laifual capacity utilisation

Laifual produced 256,900 harmonic reducers against designed capacity of 270,000 in H1 2026. Designed monthly capacity reached 64,800 units in July. H1 utilisation was 95.1%, across the company’s end markets.

Sources

The H1 output and designed-capacity figures cover the same six-month period. July capacity is a monthly rate, not achieved output. Humanoid-only production is not disclosed.

Laifual · 2026 Interim Report, pp. 8–9 · 2026-09-28
Company filing

Component details →

Tuopu starts small-batch actuator and hand-motor deliveries

Tuopu reported small-batch delivery of linear actuators, rotary actuators and dexterous-hand motors in H1 2026. Robot-actuator revenue reached RMB14.05 million, up 83.43% year on year. Structural parts, foot dampers and electronic flexible skin were being prepared for production. Phase one of Tuopu’s robot-component industrial base was largely complete at H1 2026.

Sources

Small-batch deliveries are reported for actuators and hand motors; the other product lines remain in production preparation.

Tuopu · H1 2026 report · 2026-09-10
Company interim report

Tuopu · H1 2026 revenue table, p. 8 · 2026-08-28
Company interim report

Component details →

Changying Precision humanoid component deliveries

Changying Precision reported more than 1.1 million humanoid precision components delivered in January-August 2026, following approximately 860,000 in H1. On 8 October it described faster Q3/Q4 order growth than H1 and expansion in response to customer demand.

Sources

H1 is included in the January-August total. The October investor response describes Q3/Q4 orders; the delivery total covers January-August. Financial media reported the October response, and the H1 baseline appears in the company filing.

Eastmoney · 8 October investor-response report · 2026-10-08
Reported company disclosure

Changying Precision · H1 2026 report summary · 2026-08-27
Company filing

Component details →

Component sourcing and cost

Actuation accounts for roughly half of humanoid hardware cost in published industry assessments. It includes motors, transmissions, joint assemblies and integrated sensing and drive electronics.

Sources

McKinsey reports the 40–60% range. Schaeffler provides a supplier assessment; Interact Analysis distinguishes configurations; BofA’s 51% is a 2030 hardware BOM forecast.

McKinsey · humanoid supply-chain analysis · 2026-04-17
Industry cost-share assessment
40–60% of BOM for actuation. Hand components generally sit within actuation and sensing; separately procured hand subsystems are distinguished.

Schaeffler · Humanoids presentation, pp. 11–12 · 2026-02
Supplier cost-share assessment
Approximately 50% for rotary and linear actuators. Robot configuration and production-volume basis: unspecified.

Interact Analysis · joint-actuator research · 2025-06
Configuration-specific research assessment
Joint actuators exceed 30% of BOM in high-configuration robots with dexterous hands and advanced sensors; some basic versions exceed 50%. The estimates cover different robot configurations.

Bank of America Institute · Physical AI, part 2, p. 5 · 2026-03-12
BofA Global Research · 2030 forecast
Projected 2030 BOM: linear actuators 27% plus rotary actuators 24%, totalling 51%. Dexterous hands are a separate 19% category.

Where the supply chain is concentrated

Precision gearing

The five largest suppliers accounted for 75.8% of harmonic reducer shipments for robots in China in 2025, according to CIC research in Laifual’s prospectus.

2025 shipments · China robotics

Sources

Laifual commissioned the industry research for its IPO. The top-five aggregate is reported directly in the prospectus; individually rounded shares may sum differently.

Laifual · IPO prospectus, pp. 74–75 · 2026-06-22
Commissioned research · CIC

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China’s robot harmonic-reducer shipments, including industrial robots and humanoids.

Force / torque sensing

China Electronics News and CCID report that the top three suppliers held 92.8% of China’s humanoid six-axis force/torque sensor market in 2025.

2025 market · China

Sources

The report summary puts Blue Point above 80% of China’s humanoid six-axis sensor market.

China Electronics News / CCID · report release · 2026-08-31
Report publisher release · republished by Sina

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China’s humanoid six-axis sensor market. Revenue-versus-unit measurement basis: unspecified.

Dexterous hands

Smart Analytics Global estimates that Chinese suppliers accounted for 96% of global dexterous-hand shipments in H1 2026, with Western suppliers at 4%.

H1 2026 shipments

Sources

SAG’s September 2026 report is subscription-only. The linked coverage reports the 96%/4% split and six-active-DoF threshold.

Smart Analytics Global · original research · 2026-09-18
Original report · subscription required

Scarlett Evans · TechTarget coverage · 2026-09-24
Secondary reporting · public figures

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SAG shipment estimate for hands with at least six active degrees of freedom; share is grouped by supplier origin.

Motor magnets

Planned mining growth outside China outpaces the facilities needed to turn that material into magnets. The IEA identifies conversion of refined oxides into metals and magnet manufacture as the main bottlenecks.

Outside China · existing and announced projects for 2035

Sources

The assessment includes existing capacity and projects announced by early 2026, assuming completion. It measures tonnes of contained neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium at each processing stage across end uses.

IEA · Rare Earth Elements · 2026-04-08
IEA project-pipeline assessment

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Tonnes of magnet rare-earth content at each stage in 2035. Motor manufacturers depend on the downstream processing and magnet plants as well as the mines.

Production equipment

Precision thread grinding sits upstream of roller-screw assembly. China has domestic grinder suppliers, while manufacturers still report constraints on imported high-precision equipment.

Imported precision grinders

Leaderdrive’s H1 2026 report describes heavy reliance on imported high-precision thread grinders. High equipment prices, long delivery times and export controls put pressure on investment, line construction and product-development schedules.

Sources

Leaderdrive’s assessment of roller-screw manufacturing. It does not quantify the import share or establish a tooling gap across all Chinese robot components.

Leaderdrive · H1 2026 report, p. 10

Concentration rises downstream

China’s share of global supply · 2024
MiningMagnet rare earths
60%
RefiningMagnet rare earths
91%
Magnet manufactureSintered permanent magnets
94%

Each bar measures China’s share of global output at that stage. Mining and refining cover neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium; the final bar covers sintered permanent magnets.

Source

IEA · Rare Earth Elements, published 8 April 2026. Shares cover global supply across end uses in 2024.

IEA · rare-earth supply concentration

Where alternative capacity is developing

Precision gearing is manufactured in Massachusetts, rare-earth oxides are separated in Malaysia, and magnet production is expanding in the US and Estonia.

Harmonic Drive US capacity expansion

Beverly, Massachusetts · precision gearing

Harmonic Drive plans a 50% capacity increase at its US subsidiary, which it says is operating at full production.

Evidence: 2026-08-17

Sources

The August briefing schedules investment around year-end 2026 into early 2027. The 50% expansion target applies to the US subsidiary.

Harmonic Drive Systems · Q1 briefing, p. 11 · 2026-08-17
Company-reported capacity plan

Harmonic Drive LLC · US manufacturing location
Manufacturer location page · checked 7 Oct 2026

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Neo expands European magnet manufacturing

Narva, Estonia · sintered NdFeB magnets

Neo reported first commercial sintered-magnet deliveries from Narva, Estonia, to a Tier 1 EV traction-motor customer in September 2026. Phase 1A has about 2,000 tonnes/year of nameplate capacity; a planned expansion to about 5,000 tonnes/year is in engineering and equipment procurement.

Evidence: 2026-09-14

Sources

Neo reported discussions with robotics customers and targeted two to three commercial customer programmes by end-2026. The first programme had entered commercial delivery.

Neo Performance Materials · commercial production at Narva · 2026-09-14
Company production update and capacity plan

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eVAC commercial magnet production

Sumter, South Carolina · sintered NdFeB magnets

eVAC began commercial magnet production in 2025. Its July 2026 update reports approximately 2,000 metric tonnes/year of nameplate capacity, including sintered magnets for automotive traction motors.

Evidence: 2026-07-16

Sources

Commercial production began in 2025; the opening ceremony took place in July 2026. The 2,000 metric tonnes/year figure is plant nameplate capacity.

VAC · Sumter facility opening · 2026-07-16
Company production update

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MP Materials expands US magnet manufacturing

Fort Worth / Northlake, Texas · NdFeB magnets

MP Materials reported further magnet deliveries for customer qualification at its Independence plant. Construction of its 10X campus in Northlake, Texas, was underway. The campus is planned to bring total company magnet capacity to about 10,000 tonnes a year, with commissioning starting in 2028.

Evidence: 2026-08-06

Sources

The 10,000-tonne figure is planned company-wide capacity for finished NdFeB magnets. Independence remained in customer qualification in the August update.

MP Materials · Q2 2026 qualification update · 2026-08-06
Company operating results

MP Materials · 10X site and capacity plan · 2026-02-26
Company investment announcement

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Lynas heavy rare-earth separation

Malaysia · separated dysprosium and terbium oxides

Lynas reported first commercial production of separated dysprosium oxide in May 2025 and terbium oxide in June 2025 at its Malaysian plant.

Evidence: 2025-07-24

Sources

Lynas June 2025 quarterly report · first commercial production of separated dysprosium and terbium oxides.

Lynas · June 2025 quarterly report · 2025-07-24
Company operating report

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Niron rare-earth-free magnet plant

Sartell, Minnesota · iron-nitride magnets

Niron marked structural steel raising in September 2026. The company targets operations in 2027 and up to 1,500 tons of magnets annually at full operation.

Evidence: 2026-09-10

Sources

Niron reports planned full-operation capacity in “tons”, without specifying metric or short tons.

Niron Magnetics · Sartell steel-raising update · 2026-09-10
Company construction update

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Explore the underlying data

Actuator components and suppliersProducts, architectures and manufacturing routes →Humanoid Market FlowDocumented supplier and recipient relationships →Humanoid production and capacityReported output, capacity and targets by company →