Frankfurt, 29 October 2021 (dpa/MIA) - Sales of new industrial robots rose slightly by 0.5 per cent worldwide in the coronavirus crisis year of 2020. A total of 384,000 units were shipped, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) announced in Frankfurt on Thursday. The number of industrial robots in factories around the globe climbed to a record of around 3 million units. However, the development in the individual markets varied, depending on the period of the crisis. China, for example, led the upswing ahead of North America and Europe. The number of industrial robots installed in factories in Europe fell for the second year in a row, decreasing by 8 per cent to 67,700 units in the crisis year 2020. In Germany, which is one of the five largest robot markets in the world after China, Japan, the US and Korea, around 22,300 units were installed. "The economies in North America, Asia and Europe did not experience their Covid-19 low point at the same time," explained Milton Guerry, president of the International Federation of Robotics. "Order intake and production in the Chinese manufacturing industry began surging in the second quarter of 2020. "The North American economy started to recover in the second half of 2020, and Europe followed suit a little later," Guerry said.