Bosch to begin small-scale humanoid robot production in Germany in 2027

Contract production to start in Bühl

Bosch plans to begin small-scale series production of humanoid robots in 2027 at its site in Bühl in Germany’s Black Forest. The technology group will manufacture the machines together with Humanoid, a British robotics start-up based in London, according to it-daily.net. Bosch will act as a contract manufacturer, marking the first time the company has produced this category of artificial intelligence-controlled robot.

The company has not disclosed planned production volumes or the number of employees involved. That leaves the initial scale of the project unclear, but the decision places an established global automotive supplier directly inside the emerging humanoid robotics supply chain. Humanoid will remain responsible for developing the robots, whose design follows the human body with a head, arms, hands and legs.

Bosch components could widen the partnership

Manufacturing may be only one part of the cooperation. A Bosch spokesperson said the two companies are examining the integration of Bosch technologies into humanoid robots, including actuators, motors, sensors and other components. These systems are central to controlling movement, measuring the robot’s surroundings and enabling machines to operate safely and precisely in industrial environments.

Bosch’s existing capabilities in sensors, motion systems and factory automation could therefore support both production and component supply. For Humanoid, working with an experienced industrial manufacturer may help bridge the gap between prototypes and repeatable commercial production. For Bosch, the project offers a route into a developing equipment market while using technologies and manufacturing expertise already relevant to automotive and industrial applications.

Factories and logistics are the first target markets

Schaeffler, the German automotive supplier, is expected to be among the first customers for robots made in Bühl and plans to deploy them in its production operations, it-daily.net reported, citing the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Humanoid has cooperation agreements with both Bosch and Schaeffler, and both German companies are investors in the British start-up. This creates a closely connected chain linking robot development, manufacturing and an initial industrial user.

The humanoid robot market remains at an early stage. Initial applications are expected in factories and logistics, where machines designed around human proportions could work in facilities and processes originally created for people. Longer-term potential is also being considered in nursing and household assistance. Companies from China and the United States currently lead much of the sector’s development, making the Bühl project a notable attempt to establish manufacturing capacity in Germany.

German developers prepare for larger volumes

Bosch and Humanoid are entering a domestic market that already includes Neura Robotics, based in Metzingen near Stuttgart. According to it-daily.net, Neura raised up to $1.4 billion from investors for further expansion, in one of Germany’s largest financing rounds. The company intends to use the capital partly to expand series production to several million robots by 2030.

Neura also reports a current order backlog and strategic development pipeline exceeding $1 billion. Those targets are substantially larger than Bosch’s still-undisclosed initial production run, but both projects demonstrate the industrial challenge facing the sector: turning sophisticated robotic systems into repeatable products at commercially viable volumes. For component suppliers, automation companies and manufacturers, the key test will be whether early factory deployments produce sufficient reliability and economic value to support broader adoption.