MARCH 2024
expensive. Also, the demand is relatively high at this point for electricians and power companies to update the grid. So there's a bit of a lag or lead time needed to complete updates.”
Look at total cost of ownership versus purchase price
When purchasing a forklift, consider your total cost of ownership versus initial price. “The power source of a forklift can have a major effect on the useful life of the equipment,” Warren noted. “An average, moderately used ICE truck has an economic life for the first owner of about 10,000-12,000 hours, whereas similarly maintained lithium-ion trucks could surpass this mark, potentially reaching 20,000 hours.”
“Purchase price is often a driving factor for customers,” Kassow said. “But with Toyota, we pride ourselves on designing and building a premium product. We're unapologetic about doing that. That being said, the total cost of ownership of our product is documented to be significantly lower than that of all the other marketplace competitors. So although you may pay more at the inception, when you look at the lifespan of the forklift and the total cost of maintaining it and owning it, we think that we bring industry leading, lower cost of ownership and then ultimately, a higher secondary market value.”
Warren observed that electric drivetrains also have fewer components and less complexity than internal combustion and, therefore, fewer serviceable parts that require periodic maintenance. One paper and packaging plant cited by Warren saved $1.5 million by switching from IC to lithium-ion powered forklifts at just one facility.“ This is another area where telemetry data can be valuable because it can offer operations a more concrete understanding of their equipment utilization, which can be used to estimate their potential fuel and service cost savings from switching to electric forklifts,” he added.
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Lithium-ion forklift batteries provide a wide variety of efficiency advantages that can offer an excellent return on investment when managed appropriately. Source: Toyota