Kubota unveils all-electric mini excavator

Kubota unveiled a concept all-electric mini excavator on the opening morning of the Intermat show. The company has yet to set a launch date and said it was showing the machine to get feedback from dealers and customers.

The machine - being shown at an exhibition for the first time anywhere in the world -is modelled on Kubota's 1.8-1.9 t class U17 mini and is powered either by battery or via a mains electricity supply.

Bernard Dewaele, Kubota's export sales manager, told IRN that the machine will run for around three hours on a single charge but will be capable of quick recharging, for example over a lunch-break.

"Some machines can work on battery for six hours, but you need to charge them overnight", he said, "Our idea is for a quick recharge. Now we want to know what our customers think; how they would use it, what kinds of jobs - that's why we are showing it."

The excavator was developed in Japan by Kubota in cooperation with a battery specialist whose identity Kubota is not revealing.

Meanwhile, Mr Dewaele said Kubota was seeing a twin-track Europe in terms of demand, with Northern Europe performing much better than the South. He said rental companies in the North were renewing their fleets and currently represented a high percentage of sales.