JCB's fully-electric excavator breaks cover

JCB India is bullish on India's infrastructure projects even as it aims to make its Vadodara plant an export hub. Highlights of Shahkar Abidi's conversation with the JCB India head, Deepak Shetty.

- Shahkar Abidi

About a month after announcing Rs 1,000 crore investment in India, UK-based JCB has introduced La fully, electric excavator, at an industry trade fair held in Bengaluru beginning May 16. Talking on the sidelines of the event, Excon 2021-considered South Asia's largest exhibition involving the construction equipment industry, Deepak Shetty, CEO and Managing director of JCB (India) told Autocar Professional that JCB 19C-1E, the nomenclature of the electric excavator is integral to JCB's 'Road to Zero' initiative, a programme that it has been working on for the past few years. According to Shetty, the machine has been tested extensively for enhanced safety and performance apart from being low noise, a feature that will encourage its usage even in indoor workings.

In addition, to satisfy customers' usual anxieties which usually comes with relatively lesser tested technologies such as electric mobility, JCB (India) has packed its new electric excavator with four lithium-ion batteries that can power it for a full day on a single charge. On the safety front, the excavator's 2GO system has been designed to isolate all controls as a secondary safety system even as its auto-idle and auto kick-up redistribute power to preserve battery life. As Shetty explains, "With operating costs becoming more critical than ever, our products are designed to consume less fuel and have lower maintenance costs, thereby improving the profitability for our customers."

While the mainstreaming of electric-powered construction equipment still remains a few years away, the development is likely to appeal to many contractors who have seen inflationary pressures arising out of a spike in commodity prices including crude. Also, the costs associated with new emission norms has led to an increase in equipment cost as well as operating cost of equipment.