Technavio, an international market research organization, recently released a report that the global forklift battery market is expected to grow by US$1.8 billion during 2020-2024, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7% during the period.

Europe is the world's largest regional market for forklift batteries in 2019. It is expected that during the forecast period, 35% of the market growth will come from the European region, of which Germany and France will be the main markets in this region. The growing demand for forklifts in the automotive industry and warehouses will greatly promote the growth of the forklift battery market in the region during the forecast period. However, in terms of market growth, the European region will be slower than the growth of the Asia-Pacific and North American markets.

In general, the increase in the number of warehouses has promoted the increase in forklift sales, thereby stimulating a moderate increase in the demand for forklift batteries. Nevertheless, replacing electric forklifts with fuel cell forklifts will challenge the growth of market participants. In order to take full advantage of these opportunities, market suppliers should pay more attention to the growth prospects of fast-growing areas while maintaining their position in slow-growing areas.

Industries such as papermaking and printing, automobiles, food and beverages, and logistics have increased the use of electric or battery-powered forklifts due to their low greenhouse gas emissions and low noise. In addition, the cost of advancing electric forklifts is 50% lower than that of advancing internal combustion engines, thus helping end users significantly reduce their logistics costs. Moreover, longer service life, high flexibility and low maintenance costs are other main factors that promote the further popularization of electric forklifts, which ultimately drives the demand for industrial forklift batteries.

On the other hand, increasing environmental issues have caused some forklift battery manufacturers to focus on adopting battery recycling programs. The European Union has imposed strict restrictions on battery recycling. Increasing initiatives for battery recycling to prevent lead pollution and soil pollution will promote the growth of green or environmentally friendly battery recycling technologies. The increasing legislative support for battery recycling will be one of the important trends that will attract increasing attention in the battery market during the forecast period.