Messe München plans to bring its automatica trade fair for smart automation and robotics to China for the first time in 2027, with the inaugural edition scheduled for March 8 to 10 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The event will be organized by Messe München Shanghai together with the VDMA representative office in Shanghai and will run alongside LASER World of Photonics China.
The move extends the automatica brand into a market the organizers describe as central to the future development of robotics and automation. Messe München said China’s role as a manufacturing base, combined with rising demand for modern production technology and increasing innovation capacity, made the country a logical venue for the exhibition’s international expansion.
Automatica has been established in Germany as a trade fair focused on robotics, automation and related digital technologies. The Shanghai edition is intended to cover technologies including industrial and collaborative robotics, service and mobile robots, image processing and inspection, drive and control systems, sensor technology, assembly and handling systems, industrial software, artificial intelligence-based applications and smart factory solutions.
The organizers said the event is intended to bring together decision-makers, developers and buyers from sectors including electronics, semiconductors, automotive, healthcare and new energy. They also said the exhibition would aim to support the transfer of technical expertise and the adoption of new automation solutions in China.
The launch is being supported by the China Robot Industry Alliance, which is participating alongside VDMA and Messe München Shanghai. The organizers said the partnerships are intended to strengthen market access and ensure the event reflects local industry needs while presenting international technologies across the automation value chain.
