According to a Serbian economist, mass production of humanoid robots was officially launched on 29 August in Šabac, Serbia, as part of a joint project between the Chinese companies Minth Group and AGIBOT. The Serbian Development Agency (RAS) describes this site as Europe’s first mass production base for humanoid robots. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost 20 million euros.
Production has been set up at the existing Minth Metal Parts Majur site in Šabac. The first robot assembled there was given a serial number during the opening ceremony itself, which was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Minth Group founder Qing Junhua, and representatives of AGIBOT, the Serbian government, the city of Šabac and the Serbian Development Agency.
“Today, Serbia has taken a step into the future and demonstrated that it is capable of moving forward at a pace unattainable for many more developed European countries,” Vucic said at the opening of the plant.
According to the President, in the first phase the plant expects to assemble more than 5,000 robots a year, and initially around 200 people will be employed directly in this new venture. In the long term, the project is set to move from assembly to a higher level of localisation in production. Vučić emphasised that he considers the appearance of the ‘Made in Serbia’ label on the products to be of fundamental importance.
The next phase of the project is considerably larger in scale. Minth intends to build the Robotics Industrial Park in Indjia, with a total planned investment of around 200 million euros. The plan is to bring together the production of robots, unmanned systems, batteries and other high-tech components under one roof. Once the project is completed, the stated production capacity could reach 20,000 humanoid robots and robot dogs per year, aimed at both the European and global markets.
The project is particularly interesting because the technology is not being supplied to Serbia by a small experimental company. Minth’s technology partner is the Shanghai-based company AGIBOT Innovation, founded in 2023 and specialising in embodied AI — the combination of artificial intelligence with robots capable of perceiving their surroundings, making decisions and performing physical tasks.
According to research firm Smart Analytics Global, global shipments of humanoid robots totalled around 19,100 units in the first half of 2026, an increase of 272 per cent compared with the previous year. AGIBOT supplied approximately 8,400 robots and captured 44 per cent of the global market, ahead of Unitree Robotics with a 31 per cent share. Consequently, the Serbian project’s technology partner is now the world’s largest supplier of humanoid robots by shipment volume.
AGIBOT already has its own production facility in Shanghai. The company produced its first thousand general-purpose robots in early 2025, and by mid-2026, total production, according to RAS, had reached 15,000 units.
The second project partner – Minth Group – is considerably older and larger. The company was founded by Qin Zhonghua in the 1990s and is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automotive components. Minth is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the ticker 0425.HK and specialises in body panels, exterior automotive components, aluminium parts and battery casings.
According to the group’s own figures, as at the end of 2025 it had 27,400 employees and around 80 factories and offices in 15 countries across four continents.
The battery industry is set to become another key component of the cluster. Vučić stated that the first agreements with Reliance are planned to be signed regarding a battery plant in Indija, worth around €100.5 million. This project is intended to be linked to a future park for robotics and unmanned systems.