New 10-18 tonne models from Hyundai push battery-electric power further into ports, metals, timber and other heavy-duty applications where diesel forklifts have been difficult to displace.
The dividing line between electric and internal-combustion forklifts continues to move upward.
Hyundai Material Handling has completed its B-X high-voltage electric counterbalance range with the addition of five models spanning 10 to 18 tonnes. Combined with the 4-9 tonne trucks introduced beginning in 2025, the B-X lineup now covers capacities from 4 to 18 tonnes.
That upper end is significant. Electric forklifts have been well established in warehouses and lighter industrial applications for decades, but the transition becomes more challenging as capacity, operating hours and outdoor exposure increase. Ports, shipbuilding, timber processing, metals, building materials and other heavy industries have remained important territory for diesel trucks.
Hyundai is targeting precisely those applications with the latest B-X models.
Moving to 618 Volts
The new lineup includes the 100B-X, 120B-X and 130B-X LC600 models at 10, 12 and 13 tonnes, along with the 160B-X and 180B-X LC600 at 16 and 18 tonnes. Depending on configuration, Hyundai lists lift heights exceeding 7.5 metres for the new machines.
One of the more interesting changes takes place under the skin. Hyundai’s 4-9 tonne B-X trucks operate at approximately 309 to 348 volts. The 10-18 tonne machines move to a 618V electrical architecture.
Increasing voltage allows a high-power drivetrain to deliver the required power at lower electrical current. That matters on a heavy forklift because lower current can reduce resistive losses and heat generation in cables and electrical components. Hyundai says the result is improved energy efficiency while providing the power required for intensive handling work.
It is a useful distinction from the familiar warehouse electric forklift. Electrifying a truck that spends its shift moving 16- or 18-tonne loads outdoors creates a different set of demands than operating a smaller counterbalance truck between warehouse racks.
Built for Outdoor Work
The heavier B-X trucks combine Hyundai’s established chassis and mast designs with dedicated electric drivetrains, battery systems and controls. Key components are protected to IP67, while selected electronics achieve IP69K protection.
Battery temperature is another consideration when equipment is expected to work outdoors year-round. Hyundai uses liquid cooling, dedicated thermal management and integrated battery heating, and says the trucks have undergone water-spray, flooding and cold-climate endurance testing.
The 10-18 tonne models are also designed to support fast charging, an important part of the equation for operations trying to keep high-capacity equipment working across extended or multiple shifts. Whether electric ultimately makes economic sense will still depend on the application, duty cycle, available charging windows, electrical infrastructure and local energy costs.
But the range illustrates how far the conversation has moved.
“Completing the B-X range means that electrification is no longer limited to the lower-capacity forklift segments,” Raymond Galavazi, senior product manager at Hyundai Material Handling Europe, said. “Customers across a wide range of industries can now consider high-voltage electric trucks from 4-18 tonnes.”
Electric Pushes Further Into Diesel Territory
Hyundai is not suggesting that every heavy diesel forklift can simply be replaced by an electric truck. High-capacity applications can involve long shifts, high energy consumption, poor weather and limited opportunities to stop for charging. Those operating realities still matter.
What is changing is the range of applications in which electric equipment can realistically enter the discussion.
At 18 tonnes, the B-X range reaches well beyond the conventional warehouse forklift and into material handling jobs associated with steel, timber, ports and heavy manufacturing. Those operations also tend to put greater demands on tyres, masts, cooling systems and overall truck durability, making electrification more than a matter of swapping an engine for a battery.
Hyundai’s approach is to use higher voltage, thermal management and protected electrical components to make battery power workable in that environment. The company already produces diesel and LPG forklifts with capacities extending beyond the B-X range, so the new trucks do not eliminate the internal-combustion side of its lineup. They do, however, give customers another option in capacity classes where that choice was once much more limited.
Galavazi described completion of the range as evidence that high-voltage electric trucks can now be considered for “demanding outdoor applications where high capacity and intensive operation are required.”
That may be the more important takeaway. The question around forklift electrification is gradually changing. It is less about whether electric trucks belong outside the warehouse and increasingly about which heavy-duty applications have the duty cycle, charging infrastructure and economics to make the switch work.
Source: Hyundai Material Handling
