The market size of electric forklifts is showing a growing trend. Driven by factors such as policy support and technological progress in the future, it will evolve toward directions including a higher electrification rate and intelligent development. The details are as follows:
Market Size
Global Scale
Reports indicate that the global electric forklift market size reached RMB 15.238 billion in 2025. It is projected that by 2032, the global electric forklift market size will reach RMB 20.668 billion, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.45% during the forecast period.China Scale
In 2024, the sales volume of electric forklifts in China was 946,200 units, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%, and the market size had reached approximately RMB 20 billion. It is expected that by 2025, the annual sales volume will likely exceed 500,000 units, and the market size will surpass RMB 30 billion. The CAGR from 2025 to 2030 may exceed 10%, and the market size is expected to break through RMB 50 billion by 2030.Development Trends
Sustained Increase in Electrification Rate
Driven by both environmental protection policies and the enhanced environmental awareness of enterprises, the process of electric forklifts replacing fuel-powered forklifts will accelerate. It is estimated that by 2027, the proportion of electric forklifts in the total forklift sales volume will exceed 70%. By 2030, the penetration rate of lithium-battery forklifts in China will reach 75%, with an annual sales volume of over 1.2 million units.Improvement in Intelligence Level
With the integrated application of the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the market penetration rate of intelligent electric forklifts will rise from 20% in 2025 to 40% in 2030. In the future, electric forklifts will be equipped with functions such as automatic navigation and cargo identification, enabling them to be better integrated into intelligent warehousing and production systems.Popularization of Lithium Battery Applications
Due to advantages such as high energy density and long service life, lithium batteries will be more widely used in electric forklifts. In 2024, the penetration rate of lithium-battery forklifts among electric forklifts had exceeded 40%. In the future, their proportion in electric forklifts will continue to increase, and it is expected that by 2030, their share of the overall electric forklift market will rise to more than 80%.Expansion of Application Fields
The application of electric forklifts in fields such as warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, and retail will continue to deepen. Moreover, with the development of emerging industries such as new energy batteries and cold chain logistics, new demand for electric forklifts will be generated. It is projected that by 2030, the proportion of demand for electric forklifts in the warehousing and logistics field will increase from 60% to 70%, and the proportion of demand in the manufacturing industry will grow from 25% to 35%.Growth of Export Market
Benefiting from initiatives such as the "Belt and Road Initiative", the export market for electric forklifts has broad prospects, with an expected annual export growth rate of 15%. In 2023, China's electric forklift export value reached USD 2.87 billion, accounting for 48% of the global market share. In the future, China will remain an important global export base for electric forklifts.
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