Why is LiuGong Access betting on new telehandler range for growth?

Unlike in Europe or North America, where the machines are commonplace on construction sites, they remain a niche product in LiuGong Access’s home market.

Mr. Li Ying, managing director, LiuGong Access (Image: KHL Group)

That raises a question: why would the company, launched just four years ago to manufacture aerial work platforms (AWPs), be readying itself to unveil a range of new telehandler models?

For the company’s managing director, Mr. Li Ying, the answer lies in preparing for the next stage of growth.

LiuGong Access, a subsidiary of LiuGong Group, is a young company. Launched in 2021, with a factory in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, it was a relative latecomer to a Chinese access market that enjoyed dramatic growth for several years before slamming into reverse. The market experienced double-digit declines in 2024, amid economic headwinds at home, and several Chinese manufacturers are reportedly feeling the pressure, with far lower sales volumes this year than in previous years.

China’s MEWP population increased exponentially but is now tailing off at high levels. By the end of 2024 it numbered 800,000 units. Growth from here is expected to be more modest – perhaps 900,000 units by the end of 2025.

If times are tough, then Mr. Li betrays no signs of panic. Behind his easy-going manner, he comes across as a confident and considered operator – and one who studies the trends in his industry carefully.

In his view, telehandlers represent an opportunity to find a new source of growth.

“Telehandlers are our second growth curve,” says Mr. Li via a translator. He is positive about increasing demand for the machines both at home and abroad.

Betting on a new product family

LiuGong’s debut machine, the 735, is a 7m, 3.5t unit available in both

Completed scissor lifts await delivery at LiuGong Access’s factory in Zhenjiang, China (Image: KHL Group)

diesel and battery-powered versions. The diesel is aimed at agriculture, while the battery version will target construction. More platforms are in development: the compact 625 (6m, 2.5t), and the larger 1440 and 1840 models (14m and 18m reach, both 4t capacity). Plans also extend to two larger, rotating machines: a 20m/5t model and a 26m/6t model, although design for these has not yet started.

“All of these machines are designed on modular platforms,” Mr. Li explains. “That gives us consistency across the range, and the flexibility to adapt them into different versions such as 9m or 10m models.”

Production numbers will be modest at first. Fewer than 300 units are expected this year, owing to limited prototype capacity and ongoing negotiations with the local government over a factory site where LiuGong Access can develop a dedicated telehandler line.

Where will demand come from?

Mr. Li acknowledges that the domestic construction sector has not embraced telehandlers. “Most housing in China is apartments, not houses, so the applications are different,” he says. “But as living conditions change, and as the population ages, people will rely more on machines like telehandlers instead of manual labour.”

Agriculture presents another avenue. “Farming here is still based on small family holdings,” Li says. “Imported telehandlers are too expensive. If we can produce competitively priced models, with the right attachments and flexibility, then usage will increase, particularly in regions such as northeast China, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.”

Testing abroad before home

Despite those long-term opportunities, LiuGong Access does not expect early sales to come from within China. Prototypes are already being tested in Russia, Kazakhstan and Australia, with further trials planned later this year. Emerging markets will be the first that LiuGong Access will target with its new machines, followed by the mature markets.

MEWPs outside LiuGong Access’s factory in Zhenjiang, China (Image: KHL Group)

“For telehandlers, the overseas market is our priority,” Mr. Li confirms. “In the mature markets, we will focus initially on Australia and the UK. This is a brand-new product for us, so quality must come first. We will not compete on price, and we will expand step by step, one market at a time.”

He emphasises that the company wants to avoid the anti-dumping disputes that have restricted Chinese AWP exports in Europe and the US. “We don’t want the same thing to happen with telehandlers. Quality is the key, and Chinese manufacturers must think carefully about how they enter these markets,” he adds.

LiuGong Access intends to draw on the wheel loader expertise of its parent company to give it an edge. “We have decades of experience in transmissions,” Mr. Li says. “That is one advantage we can transfer into telehandlers. The other is electrification, which will be a focus as we look to differentiate.”

Positioning carefully at home

While telehandlers may represent the growth story, LiuGong continues to adapt its AWP strategy for the Chinese market. Having arrived late to the sector, it missed the chance to ally with some of the largest rental players and now works with 15–20% of the estimated 2,600–3,000 rental companies in China, many either medium- or small-sized firms.

Such is the competition in the rental space in the country that Mr. Li believes around half of the current rental companies may disappear in the next five years, either through bankruptcy or by quietly withdrawing from the industry. Supporting those that remain has become part of LiuGong Access’s positioning. “Our strategy is to grow with our customers,” he says.

“We don’t see the relationship simply as selling and buying. We build strategic partnerships with key clients, including training and risk management advice. Cash flow is the biggest issue now and in some cases, the monthly machine repayment is higher than the rental income.”

Asset-light advantage

The company’s cautious approach is reinforced by its manufacturing strategy. Rather than invest in new facilities, LiuGong Access operates from a factory originally built by the parent group in 2003 for backhoe loaders, skidsteer loaders, and smaller wheel loaders.

Completed boom lifts await delivery from LiuGong Access’s factory in Zhenjiang, China (Image: KHL Group)

“This asset-light model gives us flexibility,” Mr. Li says. “We haven’t taken on the same risks as competitors that invested heavily in new plants. That allows us to manage the balance between profit and loss more effectively.”

LiuGong Access has already taken advantage of that flexibility to shift some production away from scissors, where margins are weakest, in favour of booms lifts where it can achieve better returns.

Currently, it is a challenging environment to operate in. “This is the first real downturn the industry has faced,” Mr. Li says. Originally, he had expected recovery for the market in 2026 but expects it to come later - perhaps in 2027 or even as late as 2028.

But he still sees grounds for long-term optimism. “Around half of the potential applications for AWPs in China have not yet been developed. Many local government departments have never even seen this equipment. That means there is still untapped potential,” he asserts.

Gradually, China’s huge fleet of MEWPs will also need to be replaced, and in the respect too, he finds cause for optimism over the longer term.

Emerging market focus

With little growth available at home in the short term, international expansion is important. For AWPs, LiuGong Access is prioritising emerging markets, while taking a cautious approach to mature ones.

“In Europe and North America, anti-dumping measures make entry difficult,” Mr. Li says. “We are not considering the US at present.”

Mr. Li Ying, managing director of LiuGong Access (Image: KHL Group)

He stresses however, that if the barriers to entering the US and Europe are currently high, they remain important to LiuGong Access due to their size and are markets that the company aims to access eventually.

“If we do enter in future, we will not build a factory there,” Mr. Li adds. “Costs are too high and labour is not suited to factory work. We would produce in a third country instead.”

Unlike some Chinese rivals, LiuGong Access has no plans to acquire overseas businesses if it does start production in other countries. “Cross-cultural management is too difficult,” Mr. Li says. “If local people cannot manage their business well, how could we? Our preference is to invest directly in our own facilities.”

Meanwhile, among the emerging markets, he sees India as a longer-term opportunity. “India will grow quickly over the next five years, though not as fast as China in the past,” he says. “But eventually it could become the biggest AWP market, as the US and China have already peaked.”

“We must be modest,” Mr. Li says. “AWPs are our foundation, but telehandlers will give us new growth. We will expand step by step, focusing on quality and stability. That is how we will compete and grow in the long term.”