The third batch of 1,000 Pepper humanoid robots developed by Japan’s Softbank Corp and manufactured by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) again sold out within one minute on Saturday — the first day of sales for this month in Japan.
No more orders will be taken this month, with the next sale scheduled to take place at 10am on Sept. 26 on the Softbank Robotics Corp Web site — the robotics joint venture formed by Softbank, Hon Hai and China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), Softbank said in a statement.
The first 1,000 Peppers were sold out in one minute on June 20, after Pepper’s debut on June 18, with the second batch of 1,000 units also selling out in one minute after Softbank launched online ordering on July 31.
The humanoid robot, which is programmed to read human emotion and express feeling, is priced at ￥198,000 (US$1,626) and is only available in Japan.
To meet the demand for Peppers, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), plans to increase the number of employees from 700 to 1,000 in its Yentai city plant in China’s Shandong Province — Hon Hai’s third largest manufacturing plant in the country — according to a report in the Nikkei Shimbun.
MEETING DEMAND
The Yentai plant is Hon Hai’s closest manufacturing location to Japan. The plant previously manufactured Nintendo Co’s Wii U before making Peppers, the newspaper said.
The Taiwanese manufacturer also plans to install industrial automation facilities in the Yentai plant to boost production efficiency and capacity, from 10 robots per hour to 15 per hour, it said.
“The company is aggressively expanding the robotic business by increasing the production capacity to meet client’s strong demand,” Hon Hai said.
Hon Hai on June 18 announced that it would collaborate with Alibaba to invest ￥14.5 billion each in the robotic joint venture, with the two companies each holding a 20 percent share in Softbank Robotics. Softbank own the remaining 60 percent share.
In a Web broadcast press conference in Japan on Saturday, Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) said robotics development is a strategic area of focus for the company as it continues to invest in “intelligence manufacturing,” which refers to the use of industrial automation facilities in the manufacturing process.
The strategic alliance with Alibaba and Softbank is expected to facilitate future sales of Pepper robot and other robotic products on the global market, such as in China, India and the US, Hon Hai said.
Hon Hai shares closed at NT$88.6 in Taipei trading on Friday, rising 0.8 percent so far this year, outperforming the broader market’s 13.84 percent decline over the period.
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