An AGV (automated guided vehicle) is a driverless industrial vehicle that moves loads along routes set in advance, guided by tape, wire, floor codes, reflectors or a stored map. The common types are tuggers that tow carts, unit-load carriers with a deck or conveyor, forklift and pallet-jack AGVs, low under-ride carriers that lift racks from below, and assembly-line AGVs that carry car bodies or batteries. Western makers rarely publish prices. Published figures range from about US$5,000–13,000 per vehicle for basic Chinese under-ride and tape-following units (supplier asking prices) and from €20,000 for a basic European transport robot, to roughly £30,000–150,000 per vehicle in public contracts that include installation.
AGV types, with real models and their published capacity
Carried payload and towing capacity are separate columns because a tugger pulls a train much heavier than anything it could carry.
| AGV type | What it moves | Example model | Payload (carried) | Towing capacity | Guidance on that model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tugger / tow tractor | Cart trains between stores and line | Yale MO150T | Not applicable | 15,000 lb (about 6,800 kg) | Infrastructure-free (no tape, wire or magnets) |
| Tugger / tow tractor | Carts and trolleys | MasterMover TOW300 | Not applicable | Up to 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) | Not stated in the source |
| Unit load | Pallets or bins on a deck, conveyor or lift | Daifuku M500U | Up to 4,000 lb (about 1,800 kg) | Not applicable | Not stated in the source |
| Forklift / stacker | Pallets into racking | Jungheinrich EKS 215a | 3,300 lb (about 1,500 kg); lift up to 236 in (6 m) | Not applicable | Laser |
| Forklift / stacker | Pallets, floor to rack | Hyster robotic CB stacker S1.0C / S1.2C / S1.5C | 2,200 / 2,645 / 2,750 lb | Not applicable | Infrastructure-free |
| Under-ride (latent lift) | Racks and shelves lifted from below | ANT Robots ANR-L04 to L20 | 400–2,000 kg | Not applicable | Laser SLAM, QR codes or both |
| Assembly line | Car bodies, powertrains, batteries | Dürr ProFleet 900 / 4200 / 6000 | 2,000 / 4,500 / 6,000 kg | Not applicable | Not stated in the source |
Several makers in this table now call their vehicles robotic trucks or AMRs. The label matters less than whether the vehicle follows fixed lanes or plans its own way around a blockage; our AMR vs AGV guide explains that difference.
How AGVs find their way: five guidance methods
The guidance method decides what you install in the building and how hard it is to change a route later. The table follows BlueBotics’ comparison of navigation technologies.
| Method | What the site needs | Changing a route |
|---|---|---|
| Line following: magnetic tape or buried inductive wire | A tape line on the floor, or a slot cut in the floor for wire | Relay tape or recut the floor |
| 2D codes (QR or data matrix) on the floor | Codes laid along the route; a camera reads them and inertial sensors fill the gaps | Lay new codes |
| Laser triangulation | Reflectors mounted around the site, with 2–3 visible at a time | Add or move reflectors |
| Natural-feature (contour) navigation | Usually nothing; sometimes a few reflective stickers | Edit the map in software |
| Vision guidance | Nothing; cameras localize from the building’s features | Edit the map in software |
BlueBotics rates line following as reliable but costly and slow to change, because every new route means new floor work. Floor codes suit robots that move on a fixed grid; ANT Robots’ latent-lift range, for example, is offered with QR codes, laser SLAM or both. Laser reflectors give forklifts a precise position at racking. Natural-feature and vision guidance need no floor work, so a plant can change layouts in software.
What an AGV costs: published prices
| Source | What was bought | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made-in-China supplier listings, October 2026 | 500 kg under-ride AGV; 500 kg magnetic-tape AGV; 1,500 kg laser-SLAM pallet robot | US$8,850–11,800; US$5,000; US$10,000–11,000 per vehicle | Supplier asking price, FOB, vehicle only; specs unverified |
| SAFELOG cost page (updated May 2024) | SAFELOG S3 basic transport robot | From €20,000 | Basic vehicle; integration, fleet manager options and service extra |
| UK Contracts Finder, University of Sheffield AMRC, 2018 | 2 AGVs from Robot Center Ltd | £60,150 total (about £30,000 each) | Supply, installation and commissioning |
| UK Contracts Finder, AMRC Gear Centre, 2020 | 1 AGV with robot arm and end effectors, from Iconys | £148,201.72 | Mobile manipulator system, not a plain AGV |
| USPS award to AGILOX, Phoenix, April 2022 | AGILOX ONE pilot | $1,759,552 | Installation, commissioning, support, training and maintenance; vehicle count not stated |
Read these as three different layers. Marketplace listings are the vehicle alone, before shipping, duty, chargers, software and setup. The SAFELOG figure is a European vehicle price with integration extra. The public contracts are installed systems, and the USPS award is a whole pilot program. Forklift and tugger AGVs from Toyota, Jungheinrich, Linde, Hyster-Yale, Daifuku and Dürr are quoted per project. For how those layers add up for mobile robots, see our AMR cost and TCO breakdown.
Safety standards for AGVs
- ANSI/ITSDF B56.5-2024 covers driverless guided industrial vehicles in the US, including manual trucks converted to automatic operation and the automated functions of manned trucks (ANSI summary).
- ISO 3691-4:2023 covers driverless industrial trucks and their systems internationally, including AGVs and AMRs; rail-guided and remote-controlled trucks are outside its scope.
Which one applies depends on region and vehicle type; our AMR and AGV safety standards guide compares them with ANSI/A3 R15.08.
AGV quote checklist
- Vehicle type, model and rated payload or towing capacity with your actual cart or pallet
- Guidance method and the floor work it needs (tape, wire slot, codes, reflectors), plus who installs it
- Lift height and positioning accuracy for forklift AGVs
- Battery, charging method and how many vehicles your shift pattern needs
- Traffic control and fleet software, and the link to your WMS, MES or PLCs
- Safety standard certified for your region and who performs the site risk assessment
- What the price includes: vehicle, chargers, software licenses, installation, commissioning, training, maintenance
Tuggers are compared model by model in our autonomous tugger comparison, forklift AGVs in autonomous forklift companies, and the vendors behind both in our AMR companies guide.
Manufacturer pages, BlueBotics navigation guide, ANSI summary and public contract notices checked October 24, 2026.