NEW Holland has won a GOOD DESIGN® award for its W40X Electric Power compact wheel loader.
The award is described as one of the world’s most significant design prizes, acknowledging the role played by styling in complementing the practical aspects of machine engineering.
Aimed at operating in indoor or urban areas, the W40X Electric Power is 1,650mm wide and produces zero emissions. It features an all-electric drive system powered by a 23kWh battery that provides 39kW rated power with a 3-6 hour work time depending on application.
Boasting the ‘Clean Blue’ colour that characterises all New Holland electric products, the styling incorporates the manufacturer’s leaf symbol on the rear hood. Imitating the loader bucket shape, an interlocking geometric triangular motif is carried through the length of the machine from the engine hood at the rear to the see-through driver’s door glass and on to the loader boom, unifying the machine’s design language.
Total operating weight is 3.9t and bucket payload 1.0t with a standard 0.5m3 bucket size.
An attachment linkage has been designed specifically for battery electric vehicles, which New Holland said offers the same strength and durability as a standard design, but with reduced weight and a 5% advantage in required working energy.
Automated functions, including return-to-dig, return-to-travel and return-to-height, are designed to ease boom and bucket control. Electro-proportional controls can be customised to suit job type and preference, and load-sensing hydraulics are said to permit ‘precise simultaneous movement for full safety and efficiency’.
“This GOOD DESIGN award is a great recognition of our design team’s role in producing the W40X Electric Power styling that matches the innovation within the machine,” said David Wilkie, CNH head of industrial design. “This is a machine that required a striking style to show it offers something different within, and we’re delighted this was recognised by the GOOD DESIGN judges.”
