Heavy equipment firm CNH plans to get two new all-electric utility tractor models onto at least a few dealer lots in 2024 — including one it bills as a first in the tractor market.
CNH’s New Holland Agriculture arm said Monday its T4 Electric Power model, “the first all-electric utility tractor with autonomous features,” will be launched this week at the Farm Progress Show, and commercially available in North America with “select dealers” early in 2024.
The Decatur, Illinois farm show will also host the unveiling of the Farmall 75C Electric, a utility model that CNH’s Case IH arm billed in a separate release Monday as its “smartest” electric tractor.
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New Holland said the T4 “opens a new class in the market, the Utility Electric,” and will be an “ideal solution for lower-horsepower field operations” such as mixed farms, hay and forage, dairy and other livestock and greenhouse, vegetable and orchard crops.
The T4 Electric Power battery system and fully electric drivetrain provide a 110-kilowatt-hour maximum energy storage capacity in a 400-volt circuit, for 74 horsepower (55 kilowatts) rated power and 65 hp (48 kW) PTO power, CNH said.
Given the usual light-, medium- and heavy-duty applications of a utility tractor, New Holland estimates the T4 can provide four hours’ average runtime, or up to eight working hours in strictly “low-energy demand” applications.
The T4 unit also includes four-wheel drive, a 12×12 transmission, clutch-less electronic power shuttle reverser and “all the regular power outputs of a traditional diesel utility,” CNH said, such as rear electro-hydraulic PTO, drawbar, multiple rear remotes, mid-mount valves and a New Holland 725LU mechanical self-leveling front loader with third function and 84-inch bucket.
The electrified drivetrain allows for high torque and fast response, which with the electronic power shuttle transmission, means “even an inexperienced operator can run the implements during the applications without the need for precise gear selection and throttle control,” CNH said. Experienced operators will have “infinite” speed adjustments by controlling motor rpm.
The T4 can be recharged in either alternate current (AC) or direct current (DC), and would take one hour to charge to 100 per cent power using a “commercially available” DC fast-charging system, CNH said.
The T4’s “Smart Roof” houses the cameras and sensors supporting its “driver-assisted” features such as Follow Me Mode, the Invisible Bucket and 360 Degree Awareness, along with “fully digital and connected” functions such as Over the Air Updates, Live View and Map Maker — all of which New Holland said will make this tractor “the first of its kind in the world.”
Case IH, meanwhile, said it will mark the Farmall brand’s “100th year” with a sneak peek at the Farmall 75C Electric at the Farm Progress Show.
The 75C’s exact specs weren’t available in Monday’s release, in which Case IH said the unit will be available for “limited orders” in the first quarter of 2024 and released “in specific markets” during the year.
Like the T4, the Farmall 75C offers “diesel-like performance with an average four-hour run time and fast recharging, plus lower operating costs,” Case IH said, allowing “maximum ” versatility” for jobs such as maintaining vineyards or managing a small herd. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
