European Image Processing Industry Expects Growth to Resume in 2026

After three years of declining sales, the European machine vision industry expects to return to growth in 2026. The VDMA’s Machine Vision Division highlighted this at the opening of Vision 2026 in Stuttgart. According to the association, industry sales are expected to rise by about three percent this year.

According to the association’s assessment, demand in Europe is slowly picking up again. At the same time, economic conditions remain challenging. Geopolitical uncertainties, a reluctance to invest, and weak demand in Germany continue to hold back the growth of many companies.

According to the VDMA, growth momentum is currently coming primarily from North America and Asia. International demand for machine vision solutions from Europe, in particular, is supporting the industry. The division expects demand to continue its positive trend in 2027.

The individual market segments have recently shown divergent trends. While manufacturers of cameras, sensors, optics, and other components were already able to rebound in 2025, increasing their revenue by four percent, the business with complete machine vision systems remained under pressure. In this segment, revenue declined by six percent in 2025.

Artificial intelligence continues to be regarded as the most important driver of technology. According to an industry survey, nearly two-thirds of companies view AI as a decisive factor for their current and future business. In addition to improving existing applications, the technology is also opening up new areas of application beyond traditional factory automation.

Despite the ongoing difficult economic situation, the industry views its long-term prospects positively. Image processing, along with robotics and AI, is considered a key technology for automated and flexible production processes. Expectations for Vision 2026 are correspondingly high, with many companies hoping it will provide new business opportunities and international contacts.