Electric forklifts
An electric counterbalance runs on a lead-acid or lithium-ion battery. There are no exhaust emissions, it is quiet, it has fewer moving parts to service, and the energy cost per hour is well below diesel or gas. It is the standard truck for warehouses, food and pharmaceutical sites, cold stores and anywhere people work close to the truck.
The trade-offs are the battery and the up-front price. A lead-acid battery gives roughly one shift and needs a charging area, ventilation and a cool-down; lithium charges opportunistically in breaks and needs none of that, but costs more. Electric trucks used to be limited to smooth floors and lighter loads; that is no longer true, with electric counterbalances now available well above five tonnes and on pneumatic tyres for yard work.
- For: no emissions, quiet, low running cost, less maintenance, indoor use.
- Against: higher purchase price, charging time and infrastructure, lead-acid batteries need care, less suited to heavy continuous outdoor work.
Diesel forklifts
A diesel counterbalance is the yard truck: high torque for heavy loads and ramps, long runs between refuels, unaffected by rain or cold, and easy to keep working across three shifts with a fuel bowser. It is the default for ports, timber and steel yards, builders' merchants and construction.
Against that, diesel exhaust rules it out for indoor use except in large, well-ventilated spaces, it is noisy, fuel is the largest running cost, and emissions regulations are tightening. Servicing is more involved than an electric truck.
- For: power, heavy capacities, long shifts, outdoor and rough ground, fast refuelling.
- Against: exhaust emissions, noise, fuel cost, not for indoor use, more maintenance.
LPG forklifts
An LPG (gas) counterbalance burns propane from a bottle on the truck. It has much of the diesel's power and runs cleaner, so it can work inside a well-ventilated warehouse and then drive out into the yard, and a bottle change takes a couple of minutes with no charging bay. That flexibility is why it suits sites with mixed indoor and outdoor work and no time to stop.
It still produces exhaust, so it is not for food, pharmaceutical or enclosed spaces; bottle storage needs managing; and gas is a running cost that electric avoids.
- For: works indoors and out, quick refuelling, good power, lower emissions than diesel.
- Against: still an engine with emissions and noise, gas cost and storage, more servicing than electric.
How do the running costs compare?
Electric is the cheapest to run per hour, by a margin that grows with every year of fuel prices, and it needs fewer service visits. Diesel and LPG cost more per hour but less to buy. Over a five-year life on a single shift, an electric truck usually comes out ahead in total cost of ownership; on heavy three-shift outdoor work, diesel often still wins. The right comparison is total cost over the life of the truck, including energy, servicing, batteries and residual value, not the purchase price.
Which one should you choose?
- Indoors, or around food, people and finished goods: electric.
- Heavy loads, ramps, rough ground, all weathers, round-the-clock: diesel.
- One truck in and out all day, no time or space to charge: LPG, or a lithium electric on pneumatic tyres.
- Cold store: electric, specified for the temperature.
- Not sure of the duty cycle: hire the truck you think you need for a month and measure it.
We supply electric, diesel and LPG counterbalances from TCM, Heli, Kalmar and others, sell used trucks of all three, and hire them, so we have no reason to steer you to one power type over another.