Forklifts belong to a class of construction machinery, including fuel driven and battery driven, often used for warehousing large objects transport. According to the classification standard, industrial vehicles are mainly divided into five categories, of which motor industrial vehicles are forklifts, and electric and internal combustion forklifts. Electric forklifts generally use lead-acid batteries or lithium batteries, and the load capacity is 1.0-16.0 tons; The internal combustion forklift uses diesel and other fuels, and the load capacity is 1.2-45 tons. At present, the development of new energy technology makes electric forklifts have an advantage at the cost end.
Forklift is widely used in the downstream, mainly in the manufacturing and logistics industries. It can be loaded and unloaded in many fields, handling, transmission, downstream distribution in many fields such as machinery manufacturing. 2020 data show that warehousing logistics and manufacturing accounted for 20.5%, 44.6%, and forklift sales and manufacturing output value and total social logistics correlation coefficient as high as 98%, 93%, the future development of manufacturing and logistics industry is expected to promote the expansion of demand for forklifts. The forklift industry is relatively cyclical, usually 3-4 years, with high growth attributes. 2010-2023, the global forklift market sales overall growth, the growth rate is cyclical fluctuations. At present is in the rising cycle, the manufacturing industry is picking up to promote demand growth, it is expected that the future breakthrough in new energy technology will promote structural changes in sales, and the innovation and development of downstream industries will also enhance the industry prosperity.
The electric forklift has a better cost advantage than the internal combustion type, and the annual use and maintenance cost can be saved about 33,000 yuan. At present, China’s electric forklift is mainly powered by lead-acid batteries or lithium batteries, and the life cycle cost of lithium batteries has also had the advantage of replacing lead-acid batteries, and its performance is better than lead-acid batteries.
Electric forklift market share is increasing, 2013-2022, the global electric forklift sales compound annual growth rate of 11.40%, higher than the overall level of the industry, combustion forklift growth rate is much lower than electric forklift. In 2022, the global electric forklift market share is 70.52%, and the differences between regions are obvious, and the development space of electric forklifts in developing regions is broad in the future, and electrification has become the mainstream. The global forklift market is growing steadily, with Asia accounting for the highest share of the market. The global trend of forklift electrification is significant, and the global electrification rate exceeds 70% in the first half of 2023, with large differences between regions. The rhythm of lithium electrochemical rate is different in various regions, led by Europe and the United States, and the growth rate is fast in Asia. The global forklift industry is highly competitive, and enterprises in developed countries account for the main market share.
