Morgan Stanley has revised its forecast for shipments of humanoid robots from China for 2026, increasing the estimate from 28,000 units to 50,000. This was reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) citing a report from Morgan Stanley.
In January 2026, the bank had already adjusted its estimate for that year from 14,000 to 28,000 units.
The new forecast figures from Morgan Stanley are attributed to the growing number of Chinese companies, including Xpeng, that have announced plans for mass production by the end of the year. Other contributing factors include the confirmed commercial viability of the devices, government support, and changes in supply chains.
According to the bank's estimates, the share of full-sized humanoid robots is expected to rise from 30% in 2026 to 50% in 2027 and 70% in 2028.
Morgan Stanley believes that China has accelerated its progress due to competition among local developers, government backing, and large-scale deployments to gather data necessary for enhancing robot performance and speeding up commercialization.
SCMP also noted that Beijing recently launched a nationwide training program aimed at shifting the focus from demonstrations to the practical use of robots in factories, warehouses, and hospitals.
As a reminder, in December 2025, home appliance manufacturer Midea Group developed the six-armed industrial robot MIRO U, which is set to be implemented at a washing machine factory in Wuxi.
In June 2026, Alibaba introduced a set of AI models for robots and tasks in physical environments, describing the project as a "full stack for embodied artificial intelligence."