(Yicai Global) Oct. 26 -- ABB Group’s China robotics division is raising the price for new orders by 8 percent, double the original planned price hike, as the Swiss industrial giant is unable to offset the soaring costs of raw materials, core parts, labour and logistics through economies of scale and other measures.

ABB is under huge pressure due to the global chip shortage and rising prices amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the China office said in an open letter to customers yesterday.

ABB has no option but to hike prices because the prices of raw materials and transportation are surging and the Chinese yuan keeps appreciating against the US dollar, Lu Zhangyuan, director of Gaogong Robot Industry Research Institute, told Yicai Global. A number of other companies are likely to follow suit as the increased costs are a problem throughout the whole industry, he added.

The impact won’t be great if the robot price increase is small as labor costs are rising even faster, Xiao Youyuan, chairman of Sanmen Sanyou Technology, told Yicai Global. Salaries have climbed between 5 percent and 6 percent this year in Guangdong province, he added. As a result, factories are in urgent needs of automation to reduce staff numbers.

The price hikes are unlikely to affect end customers as they have many other choices for suppliers, Liang Huiqiang, vice chairman of home appliance maker Galanz Group and president of Whirlpool (China), told Yicai Global.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor