At present, China's forklift industry has not yet achieved complete differentiated competition, and enterprises rely more on price competition to compete for market share, resulting in a lower level of industry gross profit margin. Due to its high durability, reliability, and applicability, domestic electric forklifts sold 283000 units in 2020, accounting for 45.8% of the total forklift sales. In the first half of 2021, 211000 units were sold, accounting for 49.8% of the total forklift sales, and the sales proportion gradually increased. In the future, with the increasing emphasis on environmental protection and other multiple factors, electric forklifts will gradually squeeze the market share of internal combustion forklifts.

The proportion of sales of electric forklifts is gradually increasing

With the upgrading of Chinese consumption and the rapid development of the e-commerce industry, consumers are gradually increasing their demands for logistics speed. To meet market demand, leading companies in the express delivery industry such as JD.com, Shentong, and SF Express have increased their investment in sorting robots, AGVs, and other equipment. Among them, the AGV logistics sorting system liberates logistics workers from monotonous and repetitive high-intensity work, greatly improving the efficiency and accuracy of logistics sorting, and gradually increasing sales. In addition, with the continuous promotion of supply side structural reform, the sales structure of the forklift industry has been optimized, and the proportion of electric forklift sales has gradually increased. By 2020, the domestic sales of electric forklifts were 283000 units, accounting for 45.8%. In the first half of 2021, sales of 211000 units, accounting for 49.8%, will gradually squeeze the market share of internal combustion forklifts.

Compared to developed countries, there is still room for an increase in the proportion of electric forklifts in China

In the first half of 2021, the domestic sales of electric forklifts reached 211000 units, accounting for 49.8%, with a year-on-year increase of 100.8%. The proportion of electrification has increased from 23.5% in 2012 to 49.8% in the first half of 2021, but there is still significant development space compared to 65% -75% in European and American countries. The proportion of electrification will continue to rise in the future.

Electric forklifts have more environmental advantages in indoor operations

Due to the fact that most forklifts are mainly used for transportation in warehouses, the exhaust emissions during the operation of internal combustion forklifts cause significant pollution in enclosed storage environments. Electric forklifts have the advantage of reducing exhaust and noise pollution while completing the same workload, providing a more comfortable working environment.

Electric forklifts have more cost advantages

In terms of energy costs, the consumption cost of electricity is lower than that of diesel or liquefied petroleum gas, and using electric forklifts can reduce energy costs. At the same time, the maintenance cost of electric forklifts is relatively low. The longest maintenance cycle for internal combustion forklifts is 500 hours, while many electric forklifts can reach a maintenance cycle of over 1000 hours. The maintenance of electric forklifts mainly focuses on inspection and cleaning, and hydraulic oil, gear oil, and hydraulic oil filters are replaced every 2000 or 3000 hours. In addition to lubrication, internal combustion forklifts require the engine oil and oil filter to be replaced every 500 hours, and hydraulic oil, oil, transmission oil, and oil filter to be replaced every 1000 hours. Relatively speaking, electric forklifts have lower maintenance costs.

Lithium batteries will accelerate the replacement of lead-acid batteries

Before the widespread application of power lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries dominated the field of electric forklifts due to their lower cost. With the gradual expansion of lithium battery production scale, the production cost of lithium batteries is also gradually decreasing. Although the cost is still higher compared to lead-acid batteries, it has become a major development trend for electric forklifts due to its long service life and high energy density. In the future, as the cost of lithium batteries further decreases, the replacement of lead-acid batteries by lithium batteries will be accelerated, and the production cost of electric forklifts will also further decrease.

Based on the above factors, we believe that there are three main reasons why electric forklifts will gradually replace internal combustion forklifts: firstly, forklifts mainly operate indoors, and compared to internal combustion forklifts, electric forklifts are more environmentally friendly; Secondly, given the experience of European and American countries, there is still significant room for progress in electric forklifts in China; Thirdly, electric forklifts have a cost advantage over internal combustion forklifts. Meanwhile, as the cost of lithium batteries continues to decline, the advantages of electric forklifts will become more prominent.