Industrial Vehicles Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

Industrial Vehicles Market Trends and Market Drivers

Advancement in Technology Is Biggest Trend

• Advancement in the technology of industrial vehicles is trending in the market, as manufacturers are integrating them with smart features in order to enhance productivity and improve reliability.
• Moreover, the advancing technology is boosting the autonomous capability of these automobiles, which are witnessing the integration of advanced driver-assistance systems and semi-autonomous features, with the aim of enhancing efficiency, safety, and productivity and reducing accidents.
• Furthermore, the internet of things (IoT) technology is being used to gather real-time operational data on these vehicles remotely and schedule refueling/charging, servicing, parts replacement, and decommissioning and disposal.
• In March 2024, Volvo received an order for 100 electric trucks from DFDS, a shipping and logistics company in Northern Europe.

Expansion of Industrial Sector Is Biggest Market Driver

• The industrial sector is expanding due to the rising population and economic growth, and all industries are trying to fulfill the demand for their products.
• Every industrial sector depends on an efficient supply chain, which, in turn, needs vehicles for transporting end products, raw materials, and intermediate components. With the expansion of industries, they need more space to manufacture their products. This propels the requirement for an array of construction vehicles, as well as those that are used in production-related tasks.
• Industrial production in India rose by 3.8% in December 2023, as against 2.4% in November 2023. The key sectors that drove this growth include power generation, mining, and manufacturing.

High Purchase and Maintenance Costs Restrain Market Growth

• Most industrial vehicles, including trucks, construction vehicles, material handling equipment, and mining vehicles, are expensive to purchase. This is why, majorly, large enterprises are able to afford those offered by well-known OEMs, while smaller ones have to rely on low-capacity models or human labor.
• Another market restraint is the high maintenance cost, the majority of which goes into broken parts replacement and time-to-time maintenance, especially if the vehicles are conventional ICE models.
• Moreover, due to the high cost of maintenance, many industrial vehicle drivers perform these tasks by themselves, which leads to breakdowns and frequent problems.

Industrial Vehicles Market Analysis

Vehicles Insights

• Construction vehicles are expected to witness the highest CAGR, of 5.2%, during the forecast period. The rate of construction is increasing with economic growth, driven in part by the initiatives of governments around the world. The biggest construction markets across the globe are China, the U.S., and India, with other developing countries, especially those in the Middle East, catching up rapidly.
• In Mexico, the construction industry is growing because of the efforts for the improvement of the public infrastructure and growing industrial investment. The rise in building activities will proportionately propel the demand for a range of vehicles and machines used in the construction process.
• Trucks holds significant share in this market in 2024. They play a crucial role in industries, meeting the huge requirements for transporting goods, raw material, and other things.
• Trucks also play a crucial role in the logistical chain, which includes road, inland waterway, marine, air, and rail transport. Moreover, all the other transport modes depend on trucks to transfer components between rail terminals, airfields, and ports and the point of origin and destination.
• Furthermore, for mining, construction, manufacturing, and other sectors, trucks are important, as they are used to transport resources, stock, waste material, and other things. Additionally, most items people buy at standalone shops and malls are delivered by these automobiles.

Below are the vehicle types considered in the report:

• Trucks
  • Box trucks
  • Flatbed trucks
  • Refrigerator truck
  • Logging trucks
  • Fire trucks
  • Heavy trucks
  • Auto haulers
  • Sport utility vehicles
  • Step-deck trucks
  • Platform trucks
  • Vans
  • Closed trucks
  • Panel trucks
  • Others
• Dump Vehicles
  • Articulated haulers
  • Dump trucks
  • Others
• Construction Vehicles (Fastest-Growing Category)
  • Asphalt paves
  • Bulldozers
  • Cold planers
  • Concrete mixer trucks
  • Double drum trucks
  • Motor graders
  • Cranes
  • Mobile cranes
  • Wrecking-ball cranes
  • Piledrivers
  • Others
• Digging Vehicles
  • Backhoe loaders
  • Excavators
  • Skid steer loaders
  • Trenchers
  • Others
• Telehandlers
• Scissor Lifts
• Manlifts
• Forklifts (Largest Category)
• Boom Lifts
• Aisle Trucks
• Container Handlers
• Others

Propulsion Insights

• The internal combustion engine holds the largest share, of around 50%, in this market. This is because this propulsion gives maximum performance, which increases productivity. Engines are also ideal for use in extreme environmental conditions, suitable for heavy workloads, especially for mining and transporting heavy loads; and can work for long hours.
• Battery electric vehicles will witness the fastest market growth in the forecast period. The rising demand for emission-free vehicles and machines is driving this market, and OEMs are currently shifting toward battery-operated industrial vehicles.
• Moreover, the government efforts for sustainability support this market. For instance, California has inaugurated its first solar-powered electric truck stop, which will be used by Amazon’s electric trucks.

Below are the propulsions that have been analyzed in this report:

• Internal Combustion Engine (Largest Category)
• Battery Electric (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Hybrid Electric
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric

Level of Autonomy Insights

• The manual category holds the largest share of this market. Most of the trucks work on level 0 automation and are fully controlled by the driver.
• These vehicles have been around for a long time and are known to everyone, cost-effective, and easier to maintain.
• The fully autonomous category will witness the highest growth rate in this market, of 4.8%, over the forecast period. This is due to the lack of laborers, need to maximize productivity, focus on increasing safety, and demand for higher energy and work efficiency.
• For goods loading and unloading, material handling vehicles, such as forklifts, are being automated to solve labor shortages and maximize productivity. Seeing the opportunity, SafeAI is working on providing autonomous mining vehicles.

Below are the levels of autonomy covered in this report:

• Fully Autonomous (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Semi-Autonomous
• Manual (Largest Category)

Application Insights

• The freight and logistics application are the largest and fastest-growing category in this market, with a 2024 share of 45%. As industries expand, the need for transporting consumer products, industrial goods, construction materials, and various other things is rising.
• One key market growth driver in this category is the booming warehousing and e-commerce activities, as it augments the sale of forklifts and other pieces of material handling equipment.
• These vehicles enhance productivity and efficiency, which reduces operational expenses and allows users to make a profit.
• Around the world, freight is transported majorly on roads, with 55% of the goods, by revenue, between the U.S. and Canada carried by trucks in 2022.

Below are the applications studied in this report:

• Freight and Logistics (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• Construction
• Mining
• Manufacturing
• Warehousing
• Others

APAC Holds Largest Share

• APAC holds the largest industrial vehicles market share, of 40%, in 2024. This is credited to the ongoing construction projects and expansion of industrial sectors.
• Emission regulations and the emergence of electric vehicles also influence the market landscape in regional countries, especially China, Japan, South Korea, and India.
• In China, BYD has decided to launch its electric pickup truck this year.
• Due to the emission reduction efforts, China has implemented a strongly supportive vehicle electrification policy, which is forcing fleet operators to purchase electric trucks.
• In India, due to the concerns over carbon emissions, the electrification of medium- and heavy-duty truck has been planned under a partnership between Manifold Business Solution and Climate Group.
• India currently transports about 4.6 billion tons of freight annually, generating a huge demand for vehicles.
• Triton EV made the announcement in 2023 to launch 3.5-T Triton EV pickup trucks for India and Middle Eastern countries.
• Furthermore, the Government of India is planning to build 6,000 km of electric highways, in order to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
• In March 2024, the prime minister of Australia launched the first 43 of the 60 electric trucks purchased by Team Global Express, as part of its Depot of the Future project, in Sydney.

The countries and regions analyzed in this report include:

• Asia-Pacific (APAC) (Largest and Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • India (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • Rest of APAC
• Europe
  • Germany (Largest Country Market)
  • U.K. (Fastest-Growing Market)
  • France
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Rest of Europe
• North America
  • U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
  • Canada
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Mexico
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • U.A.E. (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • Rest of MEA

Industrial Vehicles Market Share

Major players, such as Toyota Industries Corporations, Kion Groups AG, Caterpillar Inc., Tata Motors Limited, and AB Volvo, dominate the industrial vehicles market and make the competitive landscape consolidated. These companies are working to deliver products with high performance, efficiency, and productivity to satisfy customers, which primarily include major industrial and commercial enterprises. Moreover, they offer a wide variety of automobiles for simple freight transportation and specialized industrial applications. Many are also experimenting with new technologies to offer advanced vehicles, especially self-driving features and electric propulsion.

Industrial Vehicles Market News

• In May 2022, Toyota Industries Corporation’s Indiana subsidiary, Toyota Material Handling Inc., restarted the shipment of small LPG lift trucks after obtaining the U.S. engine emission certificate.
• In February 2024, Crown Equipment, a forklift manufacturer, announced plans to expand into Arizona.
• In August 2023, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas announced a new production facility in Houston, Texas, for electric lift trucks and warehouse products.
• In September 2022, Jungheinrich started the construction of a new truck plant in the Czech Republic on 37,000 square meters of land.
• In May 2022, Hangcha provided an update on the construction of the Phase III of the Intelligent Manufacturing Base at the Hengfan Science and Technology Park, with a focus on manufacturing large-tonnage new energy forklifts. The finished factory will manufacture about 300 units of these forklifts, along with 15,000 units of AGVs, a year.
• In June 2022, Volvo CE manufactured a construction machine from fossil-free steel.