Page 10 - Logistics News - September October 2023

FO R K LI F T S

Battery-powered forklift
Ba t t er y -po w er ed f orklift

market poised for growth
mark e t poised f or gr o w th

Over the past few years, Toyota Material Handling, a division of CFAO Equipment SA that sells forklifts
and related solutions, has seen a steady increase in demand for battery-operated equipment.

ypical market growth has been sitting at between expectations. This increase was driven predominantly
2 and 3 percent, mostly due to customers by the adoption of lithium-ion battery-operated forklifts,
T shifting from traditional internal combustion which are now responsible for around 80 percent of
engine (ICE) forklifts to battery-operated forklifts. Last sales versus lead-acid battery forklifts.
year, however, growth was measured at 5 percent,
a significant increase that exceeded the division’s “Battery technologies have come a long way in the
past few years. Where lead-acid battery technology
might have held back the adoption of battery-
operated forklifts, due mainly to the rate of
discharge and the maintenance required for
these batteries, lithium-ion is now propelling
the market. This has been augmented by
business cycles such as the large-scale fleet
replacements that occur every three to four
years,” says National
Product Manager
for Toyota Material
Handling –
Counterbalance
Equipment, Brent
Light.

8 SEP T E MB E R/O CT O B E R 2023 www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a