For example, it is number two in material handling vehicles in the United Kingdom. Indeed, Toyota's position in electric material handling vehicles may have been strengthened even further by the fact that world number one, Linde sold its materials handling business, rebranded as KION Group to financiers KKR and Goldman Sachs for €4bn, not to an engineering company optimising long term success with synergies.
Leveraging electric cars, forklifts and buses
Companies such as Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota cross fertilise EV component purchasing power and experience between their material handling, car and other electric vehicle making activities such as buses.

Some of the first moves to ac motors were in forklifts and lithium-ion batteries have appeared in some Nissan forklifts since 2008. Hyundai has a large hybrid outdoor forklift, and Jungheinrich field tested an innovative electric counterbalanced forklift in 2010 for launch in 2011.
This type EFG 216k truck is equipped with a lithium-ion traction battery.

Toyota is also introducing lithium-ion here, not just working to replace NiMH in hybrid cars and for use lithium-ion traction batteries in pure electric cars. Japan's largest diversified machinery manufacturer, completed construction of a traction battery plant inside its Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works in November 2010. Capacity at the plant, which will produce lithium-ion batteries for forklifts, is 400,000 units yearly.Chasing Toyota
The Toyota Prius still drives almost all of its hybrid car sales, being made in three continents. Its Auris now has a hybrid option, global production being in the UK, and electric versions of all its car models are being rapidly introduced. Toyota is not very keen on pure electric cars at present levels of battery performance, so hybrid versions of most Toyota car models will be made available.Before that, Daimler AG, playing catch up in EVs by buying 10% of Tesla, and developing electric Smart and Mercedes models, struck a partnership with Renault Nissan to develop small cars, notably pure electric ones. Renault Nissan also partners with Mitsubishi on this. Mitsubishi promises electric versions of all new car models. Like Nissan and Fiat, it seems to prefer the pure electric small car route.For state of the art components look beyond cars
Third generation traction batteries such as lithium sulphur are being successfully used today but it is in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAVs long before they will be considered for cars. Manned aircraft already incorporate the benefits of very thin, wide area traction batteries. Others will follow.

Indeed, look for the new, very flexible copper indium gallium diselenide CIGS solar cells all over solar boats for up to 150 people such as those made by Kopf Solarschiff GmbH near Stuttgart. More area can be covered and electric land and air vehicles will follow later in adopting this, starting will the massive new orders for solar dirigibles. Come back Zeppelin: all is forgiven. The new flexible photovoltaics are typically printed reel to reel. By contrast, traction batteries pushing the limits of energy storage up to 400 kWh or more are first seen in electric tugboats and electric Autonomous Underwater Vehicles AUVs.