While China’s robot market debates overcapacity and price wars, a group of domestic robot rental and sales operators has taken the business overseas. Demand for overseas event and ceremony work is rising, with an operator reporting that a single Unitree U2 humanoid can command more than RMB 20,000 a day abroad, several times the domestic rate.
One operator, who has run a robot rental business in Chongqing for two years, said China now has too many robot products and the trade is crowded, while overseas business is easier. His firm handled an Indonesian national ceremony, renting ten humanoids with a rehearsal period of more than ten days for a total project value above RMB 3 million. He is taking robots to an exhibition in the Gulf this month, though high-premium orders also carry customs clearance and local maintenance problems.
The overseas boom reflects the domestic reality: a large share of devices flows to performances and research labs, with limited share reaching industrial production, which is at the heart of the debate over robot valuations.
Looking back to early 2025, Unitree’s Spring Festival gala appearance made commercial robots an overnight sensation and many people tried the rental trade. Chinese robot rental revenue was about RMB 1 billion in 2025, with platforms such as Qingtianzu and Wanjiyizu raising funds and supply growing explosively. At the peak, in-demand Unitree humanoids commanded a RMB 200,000 premium and operators could recoup a machine in six months. Malls and brand launches paid for dancing humanoids to draw traffic.
Behind the stage lights, the utility question never went away. IDC data shows that of global humanoid shipments in 2025, entertainment and performance accounted for 36.8 per cent and research and education 24.6 per cent, with a low share entering factories for regular production. Unitree’s own reply to a regulator’s enquiry showed that in the first three quarters of 2025, research and education was 73.6 per cent of humanoid revenue, commercial and consumer uses mostly rental performances 17.39 per cent, and industrial applications just 9.01 per cent.
The party did not last. As players flooded in and supply exploded, the market turned late in 2025. Rental orders fell off a cliff and utilisation dropped about 50 per cent. Low-price competition squeezed margins. Domestic day rates for early high-end Unitree humanoids fell from RMB 20,000 to RMB 4,000, with a basic version at RMB 1,500. On resale platforms a Unitree G1 that listed near RMB 100,000 dropped to RMB 70,000 or negotiable, with used units as low as RMB 30,000. One merchant said transport and staffing costs increasingly fell on operators, and many orders were taken only to keep relationships, earning very little.
Even with domestic competition, performance remains the most mature use. As Chinese robots gain global attention, overseas business has become a new entry point. The operator said the Unitree G1 EDU U2 is the main model abroad, popular with exhibition organisers for brand recognition and martial arts and dance routines.
Pricing has diverged sharply. Domestic short-term rates for the U2 average RMB 2,000 to RMB 3,000 a day. Overseas work adds equipment shipping, cross-border travel for technicians and customs risk, so prices are higher and vary widely. One operator said overseas clients, especially companies and governments, are willing to pay, and even with higher maintenance cost a single overseas job earns far more than at home. For a one-week project in Singapore, with the client covering technician travel and robot transport, a single U2 rents for RMB 6,000 a day, more than double the domestic rate. For an exhibition in the Gulf, a single unit quotes at least RMB 20,000 a day.
Overseas projects usually follow two models: the client covers technicians’ flights and accommodation and settles equipment rent separately, or a package deal where the operator handles paperwork and transport. One technician is usually needed per device, so multi-unit projects need matching staff, and travel often dominates cost. As a result operators do not recommend shipping quadrupeds, since a robot dog costs just over RMB 10,000 but international transport and customs roughly double that, making the economics poor and overseas cases rare. Because of the complex process and high cost, operators are choosy. Overseas orders need at least a month’s notice, and a single unit for one or two days is usually not worth taking.
The rich overseas returns have drawn local players. A US firm, Robonow Global, has taken more than 50 Unitree G1 E humanoids into rental across the United States, quoting USD 3,000 a day per robot with technician fees extra. Its head said it has delivered dozens of commercial orders with ten more booked for coming months. Beyond rental, overseas operators also sell new and used units. The operator said the U2 lists officially at more than RMB 200,000, his company quotes about RMB 150,000 for new units and RMB 100,000 to RMB 120,000 for used, and most customers rent rather than buy unless they are schools or other rental firms.
Overseas rental is not paved with gold. Customs uncertainty tops the list. Projects in visa-free Singapore and Malaysia land relatively smoothly, while the US carries high risk of equipment being seized in air freight, and few cases land. The return trip is also hard. Strict limits on shipping lithium batteries by air mean many robots come back by sea, a month-long cycle, and batteries may not be allowed in with the unit, so seizures and stranded components are real risks. Even with rising enquiries, actual overseas projects remain limited, with one early operator landing just five this year.
Most overseas orders are short-term exhibition and brand-marketing work, a traffic-driven demand rather than a regular industrial scenario, so order certainty is weak and long-term returns cannot be assured. The heat in rental markets amplifies the performance attribute of robots rather than solving the core problem of entering production to replace labour. Investors are divided. Some are cautious, arguing that reliance on research procurement and commercial performance leaves high valuations without sustained earnings support, a contradiction laid bare by Unitree’s market experience. Others see an objective industry cycle, noting that performance rental and research procurement are important early revenue that brings cash back and, through performance and testing, collects data that iterates hardware and algorithms for industrial deployment.
Some still see a large future. Goldman Sachs recently raised its global humanoid forecast sharply, expecting sales of 6.48 million units and a market of USD 138 billion by 2035. Jiang Qingsong, partner and co-president of AgiBot, said robots will become the largest terminal market after phones and cars, and that as use cases diversify, direct purchase and rental markets will open further into long-term commercial demand.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Sohu Technology report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience.