Linde Material Handling has won the “materialfluss Product of the Year 2026” readers’ choice award in the Industrial Trucks category for its innovative Linde Xi Roadster, a forklift concept designed to deliver significantly improved operator visibility.
The award, organised by Pelemedia GmbH, featured strong competition this year. A total of 32 products and projects were nominated across five categories, with industry professionals invited to vote for their favourites in an online poll running from December 2025 to the end of January 2026.
Linde Material Handling entered the competition with the Roadster version of its new electric counterbalance forklift series, which offers load capacities of up to 2 tonnes. Six other nominees competed in the Industrial Trucks category, covering innovations in forklifts, logistics trains, pallet trucks, attachments, autonomous mobile robots and automated guided vehicles.
The winners were announced during a ceremony in Munich on March 5, where Richard Bozem, senior strategy and portfolio manager at Linde Material Handling, accepted the award on behalf of the company. He credited the achievement to the teams involved in developing the vehicle and noted the strong positive feedback received from customers since the model’s launch last year.
A key feature of the Xi Roadster is its pillar-free design, which eliminates the traditional A-pillars and provides operators with a significantly wider field of vision. Additional design elements further improve visibility, including a lowered front panel for a clearer view of the forks, slim B-pillars to assist when reversing and an optional panoramic glass roof.
Available in three and four wheel versions, the Xi14 to Xi20 R models also feature an integrated lithium-ion battery, high efficiency synchronous reluctance motors and a spacious operator compartment. Together with optional steering systems and a wide range of equipment configurations, the design aims to enhance safety, productivity and serviceability in demanding intralogistics operations.
