How OEMs Can Make Large Electric Excavators Cheaper Than Diesels

Large excavators (defined in this article as more than 6-tonne) are the biggest construction vehicle market, both in volume and revenue. Their popularity, size and diesel engines mean they are a significant contributor of emissions from the construction vehicle industry. They are a high priority vehicle for the industry to electrify but their size, intense workload and exposure to large shocks present more of a challenge for electrification. Early large excavator electrification was led by regional distributors conducting retrofitting projects. Paying full price for an ICE machine then incurring additional costs for labor and electric components made these examples unsustainably expensive. OEMs are now bringing larger excavator electrification in house, which IDTechEx predicts will bring significant cost savings, generating a favorable TCO. This premium article covers potential emission savings by moving to electric, performance of electric compared to diesel, which OEMs have prototype and production vehicles and case studies and estimated cost total cost of ownership breakdown.