China's Forklift Exports Maintain a Continuous Growth

In recent years, China's forklift industry has been expanding its overseas market. The export sales of forklifts increased from 102,200 units in 2016 to 405,400 units in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 21.75%. The overseas sales in 2023 increased by 12.13% compared with 2022, and the export proportion remained at the same level. The replacement of traditional logistics by intelligent logistics has made it an inevitable trend for the development of new forklifts in China's forklift industry. With leading enterprises meticulously cultivating overseas markets, Chinese brands will seize the opportunities, expand their markets, and the proportion of overseas revenue is expected to increase in the future.

From the perspective of vehicle structure, the export structure of various types of forklifts in China has been continuously optimized, among which the export growth rate of Class I/II forklifts is relatively high. China's exported forklifts are still dominated by Class III vehicles with relatively low value, accounting for 56.86% in 2023. In recent years, the structure of China's export vehicle models has been optimized. The export growth rate of Class I and Class II forklifts has remained among the top two. In 2023, 59,900 high-value-added Class I forklifts were exported, representing a year-on-year increase of 31.71%, and 11,200 Class II forklifts were exported, with a year-on-year growth of 79.08%. Overall, the proportion of Class III vehicles in total exports has been decreasing. The proportion of Class I/II forklifts is increasing, and a diversified and sustainable forklift export pattern is being established.

From a regional perspective, Asia, Europe and America account for 90% of the total forklift exports and are the main export markets. In the past two years, the growth rates in each region have slowed down. In 2023, China exported forklifts to 183 countries and regions around the world. Among them, Europe, America and Asia accounted for 40%, 27.29% and 25.7% of the total exports respectively, and the three continents together accounted for 93% of the total, making them the main export markets for China's forklifts. Forklift sales to Asia, Europe and America increased by 8.57%, 25.19% and 2.46% year-on-year respectively. The European market led the global growth, but the growth rate in all regions has generally slowed down in the past two years.

In the export of electric forklifts, Europe has maintained a relatively high proportion continuously. In 2023, the largest export volume of electric forks was to Europe, accounting for 45.45% of the total. Asia and America followed, accounting for 24.61% and 24.93% respectively. From the perspective of its historical changes, the proportion of electric fork exports in all regions has changed relatively little.

The export of internal combustion forklifts is dominated by Asia, Europe and America. In 2023, the Americas had the largest export volume, accounting for 34.13% of the total, followed by Asia and Europe, which accounted for 28.89% and 24.15% respectively. Overall, the proportion of internal combustion forklift exports to Central America has increased significantly in recent years.

Looking at the export situation of each region separately, in 2023, the proportion of electric forklifts exported to Europe/America/Asia/Africa/Oceania in the total forklift exports to each continent was 84.55%/67.98%/71.23%/41.40%/61.46% respectively. Except for Africa, the proportion of electric vehicles in exports from other regions all exceeded 50%, with Europe having the highest share.