India overtakes China in the automation industry

Industry Report Automation provider continue to invest in Europe and increasingly in India

2024-03-18 Source: Horváth | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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According to Horváth China is losing importance for suppliers of automation solutions. This benefits India in particular. At the same time, more and more companies are focusing on relocating their production to the headquarters.

Automation is also playing an increasingly important role in intralogistics.(Image: Unique Vision - stock.adobe.com) — Automation is also playing an increasingly important role in intralogistics.
(Image: Unique Vision - stock.adobe.com)

The management consultancy Horváth has identified a growing interest in India while interest in China is decreasing among investors, according to their new study "Future of Industrial Automation 2030." According to a statement, Europeans intent to invest in India and China equally, at 33 percent each. Entrepreneurs from North America are more cautious about investments in China (19 percent) than European companies and slightly more daring regarding India (37 percent). Overall, India leads with 35 percent compared to China's 27 percent.

"India is considered a promising growth market, both as a sales market and as an investment location. The country has gained significantly in importance as a production location compared to China. Companies should critically question and re-evaluate their focus on China," says Horváth automation expert Daniel Kittelberger. For the study, automation companies from Germany, Europe, and North America with annual revenues of at least 100 million euros in 2022 were surveyed.

Service portfolio as the strongest revenue lever

In addition to shifting to India, the companies surveyed are mainly focusing on new production facilities close to their headquarters. North America-based firms are also focusing on Central and South America as well as Western Europe. Southern and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, play no role. European companies invest 63 percent in Western Europe, followed by the USA and Canada (49 percent) and Eastern Europe (33 percent).

85 percent see strengthening the service portfolio as the most important revenue lever for future success, followed by continuous product innovation (80 percent) and the development of new industry applications (78 percent). The latter is particularly relevant for companies in the drive technology and electrical components sectors. In addition, 95 percent of companies are already investing in artificial intelligence. "Those who have not invested in AI by now will no longer play a role in the market tomorrow. Top managers must focus here, be aware of the many possible applications, and then implement them," says Daniel Kittelberger.

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