Powerful messages from Etesia
Etesia UK has underlined its commitment to battery equipment by showing a raft of new electrically driven machines to its dealers, both from parent company Etesia SAS and fellow French manufacturer Pellenc ahead of marketplace testing this year.
“The market is still in its infancy and we wait to see if it there will be government support in the way there has been for the motor industry,” commented Etesia UK managing director Les Malin. “We’re confident that it will come, and we want to offer high performance electric products that will compete with their petrol equivalents.”
A move towards battery ride-on mowers began with the Bahia in 2022, but the prototype Hydro 100 presented for the first time at the dealer event in Oxfordshire is more firmly in professional use territory; the petrol-powered model is commonly used for rugged applications such as maintaining wild flower meadows. Powered by four suitcase batteries, run time is up to three hours, and it’s a full electric drive for the axles and mowing deck rather than ‘energy-hungry’ hydraulic drive.
The Etesia Attila walk behind rotary brushcutters are to be joined by flail versions, including a 75cm working width battery model, designed for rough cutting applications and using a pair of the suitcase batteries.
Mr Malin pointed out that the developments follow market trends to less frequent cuts and mulching over collection.
The mowers will offer on-board and off-board charging options, but feedback from the dealers revealed concerns about the requirement for mobile charging when groundcare teams are onsite for a several days and don’t return to the workshop to charge batteries. Mr Malin said that charging provision will be part of the considerations during the testing process.
On more familiar ground, a new Essentials range of hand tools was presented by Pellenc, featuring flexible cassette battery options including connection to the existing backpack batteries or lightweight 200 and 400Wh units. As the name implies, these brushcutters, blowers and a hedgetrimmer will be keenly priced and are designed to offer comparable performance to petrol equivalents.
The first of Etesia’s electric ventures, the ET Lander work truck range continues to advance, with hook loader, refuse collection tipper and cargo box versions on show, plus the option of electric diff lock a handy addition for operations making use of a front attachment such as a snow blade. Completing the circle, the ET Lander can also be used to charge a pair of the suitcase batteries.
