Hyundai's new mini excavator

Hyundai Heavy Industries will be presenting its new 2.6 tonne class mini excavator at the Bauma show, the R25Z-9A. It said the market had requested such a model, and that it filled a big gap in the Hyundai range between models R16-9 and R27Z-9.

The new mini excavator has a Tier 4 Mitsubishi engine with Z rating – Zero-Turn-Radius, which means that it can turn within its own contours and so can work in confined spaces – and can be fitted with buckets with a capacity of up to 0.07m³.

This mini excavator will be supplied on the European market with a glass ROPS/FOPS cab. It has a spring-loaded seat, foldable pedals, sensitive joystick and storage space. Hyundai said this was particularly important for small construction equipment, as mini excavators are often used in difficult work environments, such as demolition work inside buildings with poor visibility or lighting.

The model is mainly aimed at the European market, although Hyundai felt there might be some sales in the US too.

Hyundai Heavy Industries 9A series was launched last year but will be new to Bauma. Apart from mini excavators, the range includes wheeled and crawler excavators up to 120 tonnes operating weight, right up to 6m³ class wheeled loaders. They are driven by Perkins and Cummins engines with EGR and diesel particulate filters (DPFs) standard for machines over 130kW. There is no DPF for Cummins engines under 130kW.

A number of innovations are said to make it easier than ever to work with these machines. For example, the joysticks on the HL780-9A will be electrically controlled for particularly delicate work from Bauma onwards.

Some of the wheeled loaders in generation 9A onwards are fitted with automatic differentials and converter lock up, which is said to reduce fuel consumption further. Lockable differentials are available as an option for various configurations. The high performance Hyundai wheeled loader HL780-9A has an automatic lockable differential for the front axle as standard.