When we’re asked to help clients select between electric and diesel style forklifts, we typically respond by saying the comparison is akin to “apples and oranges”. While they are certainly similar, electric and diesel forklifts tend to solve independent challenges that make one the natural choice over the other depending on the tasks at hand.
However, we understand that these differences aren’t necessarily obvious and can lead to confusion, so we’d like to help by presenting this comparison of electric and diesel-powered forklifts.
Our discussion here will primarily focus on material handling environments – warehouses, supply depots, wholesale and distribution, cross-docks, manufacturing, and e-commerce businesses, for example. In these environments, forklifts generally fill one of three purposes: shipping & receiving dock handling (such as loading trucks with pallets), internal material staging (such as moving raw materials between manufacturing steps), and order picking (such as pulling orders from internal storage).
This will give us a good framework to compare within, and readers should keep in mind that other applications such as construction, rigging, and live events would impose different criteria into the comparison.
Comparing Core Performance Criteria for Electric and Diesel Forklifts
To provide as simple a comparison between electric and diesel forklifts as possible, let’s share a table of performance criteria below. We’ll use relative terms such as “higher” and “lower” to describe each feature, weighing each lift style against the other without going so far as to label any value as “good” or “bad”.
As we’ll see in the next section, each feature’s value is rooted in its ability to fulfill a specific application, but we won’t get ahead of ourselves – let’s start with the comparison list:
| Performance Criteria | Electric Forklifts | Diesel Forklifts |
|---|---|---|
| Application Flexibility | Lower | Higher |
| Forklift Size | Smaller | Larger |
| Customization | Higher | Lower |
| Load Size | Lower-Mid | Mid-Higher |
| Gross Power | Lower | Higher |
| Torque | Lower | Higher |
| Ride Comfort | Higher | Lower |
| Maneuverability | Higher | Lower |
| Duty Cycle | Intermittent | Near Continuous |
| Return to Service Time | Slower (Charging Time) | Faster (Refueling Time) |
| Personnel Hazards | Battery Charging Emissions | Combustion Emissions |
| Emissions | None | Higher |
| Noise | Quieter | Louder |
| Maintenance | Lower | Higher |
| Lifespan | Shorter | Longer |
| Environmental Sensitivity | Higher (Cold Weather) | Lower (Ventilation) |
| Initial Cost | Higher | Lower |
| Operational Costs | Lower | Higher |
| Maintenance Costs | Lower | Higher |
| Total Lifecycle Costs | Lower | Higher |
| Infrastructure Costs | Higher (Chargers) | Lower |
To interpret this comparison table, let’s provide two statements:
- Electric forklifts are nimble, staff-friendly lifts that work best in dense warehouse environments handling loads up to about 5,000 lbs that trade a higher upfront purchase price for a lower overall cost of ownership.
- Diesel forklifts are robust, powerful lifts that work best in outdoor and large-scale ventilated environments handling excessive loads from 10,000 lbs to over 80,000 lbs that trade a lower upfront purchase price for higher overall cost of ownership.
An important note on diesel emissions: diesel forklifts emit hazardous combustion gases, whereas electric forklifts do not, which almost entirely prohibits diesel lifts from operating indoors unless special, high volume ventilation systems are provided. For this reason, a general rule of thumb is that diesel lifts are preferred outdoors, and electric lifts indoors.
Taking an Application Approach to Forklift Selection
With the table above, we distilled down the core features of electric and diesel forklift styles into simple terms, but this certainly doesn’t mean that one style is universally better than the other.
In fact, the ideal way to read the above table is through the eyes of specific applications that are best suited to each type of lift. In this context, a feature that says “higher” could be equally better or worse for a target objective, adding a layer of nuance to the comparison between forklift types.
Let’s play this out by turning our comparison here into a Pro/Con list specific to each lift type’s most suitable applications.
- Electrical Forklifts
- Most Suitable Application Details: Any material handling application located in dry, indoor, ambient environments that deal with lower weight, conventional packaging and product containers (such as pallets).
- Pros in this Application: Zero emissions, quiet operation, small footprint, high density and high pile compatibility, and high maneuverability
- Cons in this Application: Limited usefulness for outdoor material handling, and slow battery charging that requires additional batteries or lifts
- Key Takeaway: For normal indoor warehouse applications handling pallets and similar packages, electric forklifts are the best way to go when compared to diesel forklifts.
- Diesel Forklifts
- Most Suitable Application Details: Any material handling application located outdoors involving oversized and odd-shaped materials, requiring high capacity, near-continuous operation.
- Pros in this Application: High-power lifting, aggressive environment compatibility, fast refueling, and lower purchase cost
- Cons in this Application: Limited usefulness for indoor material handling, lower ride comfort, and high fuel and maintenance costs
- Key Takeaway: For heavy-duty yard and site applications handling everything from oversized pallets to machinery, bulk commodities to building materials and beyond, diesel forklifts are the best solution compared to electric forklifts.
From an application perspective, we can easily see that electric and diesel forklifts are not generally interchangeable. Instead, each style has their own sweet spot that the other can’t well fit into. Does that mean that there is no overlap between styles?
No, not at all – there are certainly large electric lifts and small diesel lifts that overlap in capacity and footprint.
With that said, the indoor-outdoor emissions constraint and cost difference between styles tend to settle the decision in this gray area.
In other words, diesel lifts are often more expensive across their lifespan, so are only worth the investment when the application truly requires their raw capabilities (including ventilation system considerations too).
In all other cases, if an electric lift can get the job done without sacrificing performance and safety, it’ll typically be a better investment on total lifecycle cost alone.