Electric construction equipment has a sales problem, not an incentive problem

Recently, I read an article arguing that the construction equipment industry needs more incentives to accelerate sales of electric machinery. It’s an understandable position; electric excavators, wheel loaders and compact equipment cost more upfront than diesel equivalents, and incentives can reduce the risk for early adopters.

But I believe this gets the problem backwards. The market will not reach meaningful scale because governments provide larger or more generous subsidies. It will scale when OEMs become significantly better at selling electric machines and they actually want to sell them.

Sales don’t have to be slow

Our recent data shows that the outlook for battery electric construction equipment market is relatively weak. Our 2026 research forecasts battery-electric penetration in construction and road building at 10.4% in 2030 and 15.6% in 2035. Within earthmoving, loaders stand out at around 19% by 2030, while excavators reach 6.7%. Adoption is concentrated in compact, urban, and lower-utilization applications where overnight charging, low noise and zero local emissions create a practical advantage.

But does the adoption of electric machines have to be so slow?

Electric construction machinery is a system, not just a product

Construction equipment manufacturers have historically been very good at selling diesel powered machines. They develop equipment, distribute it through dealer networks, and support customers through parts and service. Electric equipment changes this model.

When a contractor buys an electric excavator, the customer is not simply replacing an engine with a battery. The purchase raises questions about charging, grid connections, site power, duty cycles, fleet deployment, and energy management. The machine must be integrated into the operation in a way a diesel-powered machine is not.

The traditional sales model is not fit for selling electric machinery.

The industry needs consultants as much as salespeople

The most successful electric deployments rarely begin with a purchase order. They begin with operational questions. Can the machine complete the duty cycle? How much charging capacity is needed? Is grid power available? Could charging occur during breaks or overnight? Should the customer use fixed charging, mobile charging, or battery swapping?

Our research presented in 2026 described electrification as requiring system-level expertise, including duty-cycle analysis, software integration, validation, and field support. OEM benchmarking also highlights the importance of an ecosystem around the machine. Volvo CE combines electric equipment with charging solutions and has set a target for 35% of machines sold to be fully electric by 2030. Epiroc and Sandvik have built expertise in charging, energy management, and machine integration for underground mining.

A great case study for the off-highway industry is what has happened in the city bus or electric van/truck markets. In those applications, consultative selling has become the norm, with OEMs and utilities alike offering services to help users successfully access and deploy electric vehicles. These services enable OEMs to better understand ​ customer requirements and tailor an outcome that will be successful.

Dealers must be trained to sell a different proposition

Most dealers understand diesel equipment extremely well. They can explain specifications, attachments, financing, and maintenance. Electric machines require a different conversation. Sales teams must be able to discuss charging strategies, infrastructure, power planning, battery utilization, and operational suitability.

Simply placing an electric machine into dealer inventory will not create demand. OEMs need to train dealers to identify suitable applications, challenge outdated assumptions, and support the customer after delivery. Dealer development may prove as, if not more, important as further product development at this stage in the market.

Stop organizing the opportunity only by geography

Electric machinery customers (and end users of the machines) are often connected by application rather than simply by location. Customers that want electric machines are more likely to operate in cities or on noise-sensitive sites, or have projects indoors or underground. They may face emissions requirements, sustainability targets, or highly-visible procurement commitments. These customers can be distributed across an entire country, while sharing almost identical needs.

That creates a problem which geographically organized dealer networks are not equipped to handle. OEMs need to identify national customer cohorts with the strongest fit for electrification, then support them through specialist teams. Territory coverage remains important, but it should not determine the entire go-to-market strategy.

The industry is still selling against yesterday’s specifications

Many fleets and dealers formed their views about electric machinery during the first generation of electric construction machines (pre-covid). Machine runtime was more limited, charging options were immature, and some machines were deployed in unsuitable applications. The industry taught itself that electric machines would not work.

That conclusion is increasingly outdated.

There are many more models available now – in a range of different product categories, with bigger battery packs, and with more sophisticated charging solutions – and there is a much better understanding of where and how electric machines can be successfully deployed. There now needs to be a focus on market education and selling today’s performance as opposed to selling outdated machine performance or solutions that don’t fully meet a customer’s needs.

The market grows when OEMs decide to make it grow

Incentives can create interest, encourage trials, and reduce early financial risk. However, they cannot train a dealer, model a duty cycle, secure a grid connection, or redesign a customer’s operating plan. Only OEMs and their partners can do that. The next phase of competition will be won by manufacturers that build consultative sales teams, develop dealer expertise, target customers by use case, and support charging and operational integration.

The electric construction equipment market does not primarily have a technology problem. Increasingly, it has a sales problem. The OEMs that recognize this first will be the ones that turn electrification from a niche opportunity into a scalable market.