About 80,000 industrial robots are expected to be sold in China this year, up about 20%, according to forecasts from the GG Robotics Research Institute and the China Artificial Intelligence Robot Industry Alliance. Growth in the industrial robot market slowed in 2015, with sales up 16% year-on-year to about 66,000 units, compared with the more rapid year-on-year growth of 55% in 2014 to 57,000 units. In the first 10 months of this year, a total of 56,604 industrial robots were sold in China, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). There were several impediments to robot industry growth this year that prevented it from reaching the levels of 2014, said Zhang Xiaofei, Founder of the GG Robotics Research Institute. “The manufacturing market is tough in China this year following an economic slowdown, while costs for those domestic industrial robot makers remain high because of the lack of development of technology breakthroughs in core components for mass production. Government incentives such as subsidies are not as attractive and generous as 2014 and earlier last year,” he said. Investment in robotics is becoming cautious, especially by venture capital investors, he added. The automotive and 3C (computer, communication and consumer electronic) industry were the two biggest customers for industrial robots, accounting for about 60% of sales, Zhang said. There are signs that China’s “robotic fever” is cooling down, the South China Morning Post reports. Mainland China is already the world’s largest market for industrial robots, accounting for a quarter of global sales, according to the International Federation of Robotics. The country’s annual sales target for industrial robots in the manufacturing sector is 150,000 by 2020.