ELECRIC EQUIPMENT

WHAT HAPPENED?

Electric equipment has been one of the hottest topics in the construction industry in the last five years, with a whole host of OEMs producing commercially available equipment or announcing prototypes.

While electric equipment is more sustainable and comes with numerous benefits there has been a sense that the amount of time and attention devoted to it far exceeds the number of units sold. Comprehensive information has been hard to find but this month has seen the publication of a new report from Off-Highway Research on the global electric construction equipment industry.

The 52-page report reveals how many electric variants of machines – that up until now have generally only been diesel-powered – have sold around the world. It focuses on six main machine types: compact tracked loaders, crawler excavators, mini excavators, telescopic handlers, wheeled excavators, and wheeled loaders. It also looks at how demand for the machines varies by geographical region, how many different machine types are being sold and where, and forecasts how the market could grow.

WHAT IT MEANS

The report sheds light in the form of hard data on a topic that has been at the forefront of construction for some time. The report, The Global Electric Construction Equipment Industry, reveals that a total of 7,283 electric construction machines (in the six classes previously mentioned) were sold around the world in 2023, with a total value of US$894 million.

While the volume of electric machine sales is still low, it’s nearly double the level of the previous year, when it was 3,822. Despite the increasing number of sales, the market penetration of electric machines is still small. Off-Highway Research calculated it to be 0.8%

Electric wheeled loaders account for the bulk of sales by machine type – and that is mostly down to demand in China. In fact, of the roughly 7,300 electric machines sold in 2023, around 5,500 were wheeled loaders of all sizes. China is by far the largest market for electric construction equipment with Europe the second biggest market. It accounted for 27% of global demand, by number of units sold. Some 90% of the roughly 2,000 electric machines sold in Europe were compact. But the market penetration rates for electric machines varied considerably across the region, from 8% in the Netherlands down to 0% in Ireland.

China accounted for the bulk of electric machine sales by unit, with a 67% share. However, in terms of dollar value of sales, the split was more even. Europe was the second most valuable market for electric machines, with a 39% share in terms of value of machines sold in US$. China had a 52% share in 2023. In North America, it was just 6%.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Global electric construction equipment sales will rise to 33,130 machines in 2028, with a value in excess of US$4 billion, according to the report. That would represent a penetration rate of 3.1% among categories where electric variants are available or 2.6% across the market as a whole.

However, the reports warned that forecasting in this area is “challenging” due to lack of past data. It put its forecast in the lowto midrange of likely future sales, with certain drivers like net-zero legislation aimed at encouraging greater adoption of electric machines likely to have a major effect on future sales.

China is the world’s largest producer of electric equipment and ongoing tariffs between it and the US and Europe could have a detrimental impact on future electric equipment sales.