Under the guidance of environmental protection policies, the electrification process of construction machinery has been further accelerated. As an important product category in the construction machinery industry, the progress of electrification of loaders has always attracted much attention. Although the overall sales of the loader market showed a downward trend in March, the market performance of electric loaders was particularly bright, with sales of 686 units.
Denso's sales volume hit a new high, surging 308.33% year-on-year
In March 2024, major loader manufacturers sold a total of 12,324 loaders of various types, a year-on-year decrease of 5.78%, and the overall market is still in a downward cycle, but the sales of electric loaders grew against the trend. According to the statistics of major loader manufacturers by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, 686 electric loaders (1 unit of 3 tons, 586 units of 5 tons, 86 units of 6 tons, 12 units of 7 tons, and 1 unit of 8 tons) were sold in March 2024, a year-on-year surge of 308.33%, showing a strong momentum of development.
Driven by the energy transition of the dual carbon goal, the electrification trend of the construction machinery industry is also becoming increasingly prominent. Looking back at 2023, the electric loader market has entered an explosive period. According to the statistics of the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, a total of 3,595 electric loaders will be sold in 2023, an increase of 2,435 units over the same period in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 209.9%. From the perspective of the market penetration rate of electric loaders (the proportion of electric loaders in total sales), from 0.51% in January 2022, it has increased significantly to 5.6% in March 2024, showing great room for growth and development potential.
Many companies grasp the tuyere and increase the layout of the electrical market
At present, electrification has become an important development direction of China's construction machinery industry. On the tuyere, many companies have keenly grasped the development opportunities of electrification and have increased the layout of the electric loader market.
Among them, Liugong has an early layout in the field of electric construction machinery, and has been actively exploring the development of technology in the field of construction machinery electrification, continuously increasing R&D investment, and constantly launching innovative products. In 2021, LiuGong released its first driverless loader, the 856HMAX, and achieved commercial application in China, and in 2023, its newly launched 820TE electric loader was officially launched to the international market...... In terms of after-market services, Liugong held special training camps for electric loader service qualification certification in many places across the country, and authorized and certified the first Denso service army to further deepen Denso's after-sales service capabilities.
XCMG focuses on the "dual carbon" goal and seeks new breakthroughs in the field of electrification. In 2023, XCMG successfully established a loading machinery research institute and put into operation the world's first new energy loader production line. Its pure electric loader adopts advanced "three motors" technical scheme, which is widely used in the construction line of steel, port, logistics, coal and other industries. At the beginning of 2024, the first batch of 100 XCMG XC968-EV pure electric loaders was successfully launched.
Since the first year of loader electrification in 2020, all companies have accelerated the R&D and production of electrified products, and the sales of electric loaders have entered a mature growth period. As an important representative of the electrification of construction machinery, the electric loader currently has a relatively small base, but its market penetration is growing steadily. Compared with the penetration rate of more than 60% of forklift electrification and more than 90% penetration rate of electrification of lifting work platforms, there is still huge room for growth in the future.