Schaeffler AG (SHAOn.DE): US Administration bans new Chinese humanoid robots – helpful for Western hardware suppliers like Schaeffler, we would argue

Research evidence excerpt

Schaeffler AG (SHAOn.DE): US Administration bans new Chinese humanoid robots – helpful for Western hardware suppliers like Schaeffler, we would argue

Schaeffler AG (SHA0n.DE)

29 July 2026 Citi Research

relative to lower-cost competitors in China. We expect to see increased reliance on dual supplier agreements in the China

market vs the RoW market, with Western OEMs effectively divorcing their supply chain decisions across East vs West.

Related, we have seen similar efforts to reduce the reliance on Chinese content on the Automotive side in the last year also,

with Reuters last year reporting that GM has "directed several thousand of its suppliers to scrub their supply chains of parts

from China" (link, 12-Nov-2025).

The restrictions also strengthen the case for a regionalized humanoid supply chain. If the US market becomes effectively

closed to Chinese humanoid platforms, American humanoid OEMs will need to build industrial ecosystems centred on

domestic and allied suppliers. Schaeffler is well positioned to benefit from this trend, in our view, given its existing

manufacturing footprint, industrial automation expertise, and actuator capabilities. The company's local-for-local strategy

could therefore become a competitive advantage, allowing it to participate in North American humanoid programs without

the same geopolitical concerns attached to Chinese suppliers.

Beyond supporting Western humanoid adoption, the ruling could improve supplier economics. Removing or limiting

Chinese competition reduces the number of credible vendors available to OEMs and increases the strategic importance of

suppliers that can deliver reliable, secure, and scalable motion systems. This should support healthier pricing and reduce the

risk that actuator content becomes rapidly commoditised.