UBTECH Targets 10-Fold Output Jump to 5,000 Humanoids in 2026

Shenzhen — UBTECH Robotics is preparing to aggressively ramp up its manufacturing capacity, outlining a plan to expand humanoid robot production ten-fold to 5,000 units in 2026. The roadmap, detailed by Chief Branding Officer Michael Tam in an interview with the South China Morning Post, targets an annual output of 10,000 units by 2027 as the company seeks to capitalize on falling component costs and a surging order book.

The Shenzhen-based company, which recently claimed the world's first mass delivery of industrial humanoids, is currently on track to deliver 500 units by the end of 2025. This new forecast signals a dramatic shift from pilot programs to volume manufacturing, underpinned by a supply chain that Tam claims is now "90 per cent" localized within China.

The Race to $20,000

A central pillar of UBTECH's strategy is a rapid reduction in hardware costs, leveraging the same "scale economics" that allowed China to dominate the global electric vehicle (EV) market.

"Thanks to the rapid shift of China’s supply chain towards humanoid robotics and our close collaboration with upstream suppliers, we expect manufacturing cost to decline 20 to 30 per cent annually," Tam stated.

This aggressive cost curve has allowed UBTECH to set a long-term price target that rivals the ambitions of Tesla's Optimus. Tam predicts that by roughly 2027 to 2030, the unit production cost for a humanoid robot could fall below $20,000.

According to Tam, the domestic supply chain has matured to the point where high-precision parts—such as motor systems, ball screws, and spiral bevel gears—are catching up to global peers. The only components not currently sourced domestically are specific computing chips.

Demand Beyond the Factory Floor

The push for volume is being driven by a diversifying customer base. While UBTECH's early wins were in automotive manufacturing—with deployments at BYD, FAW-Volkswagen, and Geely—recent contracts indicate a shift toward public sector and service applications.

Just this week, reports confirmed UBTECH secured a 264 million yuan (approx. $37 million) contract to deploy its Walker S2 robots at the China-Vietnam border in Fangchenggang. These units will handle patrol duties, traveler guidance, and logistics inspections, marking a significant departure from the controlled environment of assembly lines.

This deal contributes to a massive backlog. UBTECH recently announced that cumulative orders for its Walker series have topped 1.1 billion yuan (approx. $153 million) for 2025. This includes a 159 million yuan contract signed earlier this month for a "Humanoid Robot Data Collection Center" in Zigong.

The "Full-Stack" Advantage

UBTECH currently operates two dedicated humanoid factories: one in Shenzhen and another in Liuzhou, Guangxi province. Tam described the company as one of the few with "full-stack capabilities," combining R&D, manufacturing, and sales under one roof.

This integration is critical for the company's iterative development cycle. For the past 20 months, robots have been gathering data in real-world trials across logistics handling, quality inspection, and sorting. "The more deployments we have, the more real-world data we collect, which enriches our simulation data," Tam noted, describing a "positive feedback loop" that accelerates their embodied AI.

The financial markets appear to be responding to this commercial traction. UBTECH (9880.HK) recently saw its interim loss narrow by 18.5% to 440 million yuan, while revenue climbed 27.5%. In a further boost to its profile, the company has been added to the MSCI China Index, a move likely to attract institutional capital needed to fund its ambitious 2026 expansion.

Shaping the National Rulebook

Beyond its operational expansion, UBTECH is also moving to cement its influence on national policy. As we reported earlier today, the company has been tapped to join China's newly formed Standardisation Technical Committee for Humanoid Robots.

The roster, published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), places UBTECH executive Jiao Jichao alongside founders from rivals Unitree and AgiBot to draft the industry's technical "rulebook". This committee is tasked with establishing unified standards for safety, hardware interfaces, and data formats—regulatory baselines that will be critical as robots like the Walker S2 move from controlled factories into public border zones.