UBTECH and FAW-Volkswagen Partner on Humanoid Robots for Smart Manufacturing

UBTECH Robotics and FAW-Volkswagen have entered into a strategic partnership to develop and test embodied-intelligence robots for logistics operations. The companies will also establish demonstration scenarios to support the deployment of humanoid robots and related solutions in smart manufacturing.

FAW-Volkswagen operates five production bases in Changchun, Chengdu, Foshan, Qingdao, and Tianjin. Its Volkswagen, Audi, and JETTA portfolios comprise 35 models in production, while cumulative vehicle production and sales have exceeded 30 million units.

UBTECH stated its industrial humanoid robot platform draws on four core technology groups: an embodied-intelligence brain, a human-inspired motion-control cerebellum, high-performance robot hardware, and swarm intelligence. Its software stack combines foundation, world, and action models for perception, prediction, and decision-making.

Automotive production lines increasingly need to accommodate more varied vehicle configurations as customer demand becomes more individualized. The partners are therefore targeting logistics and manufacturing tasks in which adaptable humanoid robots could support a shift from fixed automation toward more flexible and less labor-dependent operations.

UBTECH noted that a comparison of publicly disclosed financial statements from industry peers placed it first globally in total revenue, overall humanoid robot sales, and revenue and sales of full-size embodied-intelligence robots. The company defined eligible full-size robots as non-remote-controlled products at least 160 centimeters tall with computing power of at least 200T.

UBTECH added that its humanoid robot factory, designed for production at the 10,000-unit scale, has begun operations. The company expects several product lines serving industrial, commercial, and household applications to ramp up production and begin deliveries during the second half of 2026.