Nippon Yusoki Co Ltd, which manufactures Nichiyu forklifts, expects to double Japanese sales of its three-wheel battery electric forklift models to 300 units this year.

Demand for three-wheel battery forklifts was expanding due to their ability to rotate easily in narrow spaces, the company said. From today, Nichiyu will sell five models, featuring energy-saving power control systems, with capacities from one to two tonnes.

The forklifts' prices vary between JPY2.18 million (USD20,500) and JPY3.05 million (USD29,000) a unit.

Nippon Yusoki, established in 1937, is listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. Headquartered in Kyoto, the company makes forklifts, order pickers, pallet trucks and towing tractors and has offices in Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore and China.

Nippon Yusoki has two plants in Japan and one in China, and reported JPY49.5 billion (USD466.7 million) in sales for the year ended March 2003.