Driven by the dual waves of global green transformation and logistics intelligence, the electric forklift industry is entering an explosive growth period. In 2025, with the gradual implementation of the electrification rate target for industrial vehicles in China's 14th Five-Year Plan and the continuous iteration of new energy technologies, electric forklifts have not only completely changed the competitive pattern of the traditional forklift market, but also become a core carrier of the intelligent logistics system. This article will comprehensively analyze the development status and trends of the 2025 electric forklift industry from four core dimensions: market size, technological breakthroughs, competitive pattern and future outlook.

I. Market Size: Dual Explosion in Global and Chinese Markets, Electrification Rate Hits New High

In 2025, the global electric forklift market presents the dual characteristics of "scale expansion and proportion increase". According to industry report data, the global forklift market size is expected to reach 6.84 billion US dollars, of which electric forklifts account for over 70% with a market size of about 4.79 billion US dollars, achieving steady growth compared with 2024. From the perspective of regional distribution, the market differentiation is obvious: as the world's largest producer and seller of electric forklifts, China's output in 2025 is expected to exceed 1.8 million units, accounting for more than 45% of the global total. From January to May, sales have reached 602,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%, of which electric forklifts account for over 60%, far exceeding the global average; driven by Industry 4.0 and e-commerce, the North American market's electric forklift proportion has risen to 35% with a market size of 2 billion US dollars; led by countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom, the European market has accelerated the process of electrification and intelligence, with a market size of 1.8 billion US dollars and the penetration rate of lithium-ion forklifts exceeding 40%.

The Chinese market has performed particularly prominently, with new energy forklifts becoming the core engine of growth. In 2025, the sales proportion of new energy forklifts in China has reached 65%, doubling the growth compared with 2022. Among them, lithium-ion forklifts, as the absolute main force, account for 70% of the new energy forklift market share, with the penetration rate exceeding 40%. At the same time, the export of domestic electric forklifts has ushered in an explosive period. In 2025, the export volume increased by 67% year-on-year, with a market share of 41% in the Southeast Asian market and 28% in the European market. Enterprises such as BYD and Liugong have further consolidated their overseas market foundations by laying out more than 200 charging stations in Europe and the United States. Continuous policy support has injected strong momentum into market growth. China's 14th Five-Year Plan clearly states that the electrification rate of industrial vehicles will exceed 60% by 2025. Many regions have launched new energy forklift subsidy policies of 10%-15% of the purchase price. Coupled with the long-term special national bonds' financial support for equipment renewal, it is expected to drive an equipment renewal market scale of over 10 billion yuan for forklifts in the next three years.

II. Technological Breakthroughs: Joint Efforts in Battery, Heavy-Duty and Intelligence to Solve Industry Pain Points

In 2025, technological breakthroughs in the electric forklift industry are concentrated in three major fields: battery performance upgrading, heavy-duty scenario adaptation and intelligent integration. These breakthroughs have completely broken the pain points of traditional electric forklifts such as "short range, weak load capacity and low intelligence", promoting their expansion from warehousing and logistics scenarios to heavy industry and heavy-duty scenarios.

1. Battery Technology Iteration: Dual Breakthroughs in Range and Cost

The continuous optimization of lithium-ion battery technology has become the core support for the performance improvement of electric forklifts. The Suixing 324Ah Pro version commercial vehicle battery cell launched by REPT LITHIUM ENERGY has an energy density of 198Wh/kg, a full-life cycle of more than 10,000 cycles. The supporting system can achieve zero attenuation operation for two years and a service life of more than 13 years. In scenarios with 4 daily charge-discharge cycles, the maximum operating mileage can be increased to 1.6 million kilometers. At the same time, the popularization of fast charging technology and integrated optical-storage-charging stations has further reduced energy supplement costs and time costs. The 120kW liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging technology combined with optical-storage charging stations can achieve an electricity cost as low as 0.15 yuan per kWh, and full charging can be completed in 1.5 hours with dual-gun fast charging, enabling electric forklifts to achieve 24-hour shift operation without pressure. In terms of cost control, lightweight design such as structural part simplification and precise electrolyte calculation not only reduces the weight of the battery pack, but also achieves zero cost growth of similar products. The full-life cycle cost is 40% lower than that of traditional lead-acid batteries.

2. Heavy-Duty Technology Breakthroughs: Entering Core Scenarios of Heavy Industry

In 2025, domestic electric forklifts have taken the global lead in the heavy-duty field. The 65-ton global largest lithium-ion forklift rolled off the production line by Taiyuan Heavy Industry Group is equipped with a 528kWh super-large battery pack, with a transmission efficiency of 95%, which can lift dozens of household cars at one time, refreshing the global load-bearing record of lithium-ion forklifts. This marks the official entry of electric forklifts into heavy industry and heavy-duty scenarios such as steel and ports. In the field of hydraulic systems, Hangcha Group and Bosch Rexroth have jointly overcome the "choke point" technology of high-pressure hydraulic components, increasing the localization rate of high-end components to 50%, solving the stability problem of hydraulic systems in heavy-duty scenarios; Anhui Heli has invested 2 billion yuan to build a lithium-ion battery recycling industrial park, constructing a closed-loop system of "production-use-recycling", further improving the full-life cycle economy of heavy-duty electric forklifts.

3. Intelligent Integration: From Single Equipment to Intelligent Logistics Solutions

Intelligence has become the core competitive barrier for electric forklift enterprises. The "Banma Robot" series of AGV forklifts launched by Hangcha Group accounted for 30% of sales in 2025 with a gross profit margin of over 40%, which can realize automatic path planning, precise positioning and cluster scheduling. In terms of international brands, the 5G forklifts developed by Jungheinrich in cooperation with Huawei have realized remote control and cluster scheduling, accounting for 20% of sales in 2025; KION launched digital twin forklifts, which optimize the operation process through virtual simulation technology. The unit price is 50% higher than that of traditional models with a gross profit margin of over 45%. In addition, the popularization of maintenance-free BMS battery management systems and intelligent energy recovery systems has further improved equipment operation efficiency. The high-rate pulse charge-discharge battery cells of REPT LITHIUM ENERGY have further empowered electric forklifts to achieve instantaneous output of strong kinetic energy and efficient energy recovery, fully adapting to the needs of continuous climbing and steep descent working conditions in heavy-duty transportation scenarios.

III. Competitive Pattern: Domestic Leaders Dominate, Diversified Entities Break Through with Differentiation

In 2025, the electric forklift market has formed a competitive pattern of "domestic leader monopoly, small and medium-sized enterprises breaking through in segments, and international brands positioning in high-end markets". In the domestic market, the two leading enterprises, Hangcha and Heli, account for 60% of the new energy forklift market share, forming a duopoly pattern: Anhui Heli has a market share of 24.88%, with leading products covering 1-46 ton forklifts, and comprehensive performance reaching the international advanced level. R&D investment in 2025 exceeded 1 billion yuan; Hangcha Group focuses on the intelligent logistics field, with its intelligent production line capable of rolling off one forklift every 6.5 minutes, seizing the high-end market by virtue of the advantages of AGV forklifts. Taiyuan Heavy Industry Group has successfully entered the first echelon by virtue of the technological breakthrough of 65-ton heavy-duty forklifts, filling the gap of domestic heavy industry electric forklifts.

Small and medium-sized enterprises have achieved differentiated development by deeply cultivating segmented fields: Shenzhen Boton Flavors & Fragrances developed special electric forklifts for -30℃ low-temperature environments, with a market share of 60%; Zhejiang NHU launched ultra-thin electric forklifts with a minimum turning radius of only 1.5 meters, accurately adapting to narrow space operations; Zhongli Co., Ltd. entered the market with "Little King Kong" electric walk-behind warehouse forklifts, with a market share of 21.89% and export revenue accounting for over 50%. At the same time, through remanufacturing bases and flexible leasing models, the starting rental price of 3-ton electric forklifts has been reduced to 999 yuan, greatly lowering the transformation threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises. In terms of international brands, Toyota focuses on hydrogen fuel forklift R&D by acquiring local brands, with a market share of 8%; KION, Jungheinrich and others have seized the domestic high-end market share through localized intelligent factories and high-end technical cooperation.

IV. Future Outlook: Diversified Power + Scene Expansion, Opening a New Era of Green Intelligence

Looking forward to the next 3-5 years, the electric forklift industry will usher in a new development stage of "diversified power, comprehensive scenes and ecological coordination". In terms of power routes, in addition to the continuous optimization of lithium-ion battery technology, diversified power routes such as hydrogen energy and methanol will accelerate their rise. The hydrogen energy and methanol-powered intelligent forklifts laid out by Taiyuan Heavy Industry Group have entered the testing stage, and are expected to achieve breakthroughs in heavy industry and long-distance transportation scenarios. The commercial application of solid-state battery technology will also be put on the agenda, which is expected to further improve battery energy density and safety, solving the range problem in extreme environments.

In terms of application scenarios, electric forklifts will further expand from traditional warehousing and logistics, manufacturing to special scenarios such as ports, mines and cold chains. The demand for customized products such as low-temperature special and explosion-proof special products will continue to grow. At the same time, with the in-depth integration of 5G, Internet of Things and digital twin technologies, electric forklifts will become core nodes of the intelligent logistics network, realizing seamless coordination with warehouse management systems and unmanned delivery vehicles, and constructing a "full-process automated" logistics ecosystem.

In terms of industrial ecology, the improvement of the battery recycling system will become the key to the sustainable development of the industry. The lithium-ion battery recycling industrial parks of leading enterprises such as Anhui Heli will gradually exert their effectiveness. It is expected that the full-life cycle utilization rate of power batteries will exceed 80% in the next 5 years. Continuous policy guidance and standard improvement will also promote the industry's transformation towards "high-endization, greenization and standardization". The global competitiveness of domestic electric forklifts will be further improved, and greater breakthroughs are expected in high-end markets such as Europe and the United States.

Conclusion

2025 is a crucial year for the comprehensive explosion of the electric forklift industry. The continuous expansion of market size, the multi-point flowering of technological breakthroughs and the continuous optimization of the competitive pattern have jointly promoted the industry to enter a high-quality development stage. With the continuous release of policy dividends and in-depth advancement of technological innovation, electric forklifts will not only completely replace traditional internal combustion forklifts, but also become the core support of the intelligent logistics system, injecting strong momentum into the green transformation and efficiency improvement of the global supply chain. For enterprises, seizing the opportunities of battery technology upgrading, intelligent integration and overseas market expansion will be the key to achieving leapfrog development.