Automotive Exports March 2021

Turkish king-size electric tractor
ready for mass production
The development of a Turkish-made, kingsize
electric tractor has been completed,
and the locally developed vehicle will be
mass-produced as of June, the company’s
head announced.
“We have 25 tractors ready and waiting
on our assembly line,” said Önder Yol, the
chairperson of ZY Electric Tractor.
The company has already received preorders
and sold a significant number of
units, Yol told.
The project has been carried out jointly
with public lender Ziraat Bank. It was
expected to pass onto the mass production
phase by the end of 2020 but was
disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yol explained that three types of tractors
are currently being used in the country,
namely garden, middle and large versions,
noting they will be developing electric
tractors suitable for their area of use.
The small version will have up to 140
horsepower and will be suitable for garden
work and in the areas where the middlesize
tractors can be used.
“These tractors can be charged in about 20
minutes and run for up to five hours,” Yol
noted.
Middle-sized tractors usually have engines
with up to 105 horsepower, he said, adding
that their machines feature up to 220
horsepower.
A middle-size version of the electric tractor
produced by ZY Electric Tractor at the
factory in Istanbul, Turkey, March 8, 2021.
These will be reliable for the even most
difficult field conditions for up to seven
hours, the chairperson said.
The mass production phase of the middlesized
electric tractors will start in the first
months of 2022, Yol informed as he said
95% of the works have been completed.
The king-size version of the electric
tractor will hit the market with 320
horsepower, above the world average of
130 horsepower.
“We will use systems that can produce
up to 1,000 horsepower. This will do both
the work done by large tractors and will
perform all the work done by tractors
called ‘monsters’ abroad,” Yold said.
This version will be able to run for up to
seven hours. Yol said this extended use will
lead to an increase in production.
“The tractor can be charged in 90 minutes.
When a unit is placed outside, it can be
easily charged in under an hour,” he noted.
“If it had not been for the pandemic,
we would have already gone into mass
production. We had difficulties completing
our supplies. We have completed 85%
of our paperwork for the type approval
certificate,” he explained.
The company can manufacture up to 1,050
units of large-size tractors, a figure Yol said
they aim to increase up to 10,000 in the
coming period.
The biggest feature of these tractors is that
it is quiet and doesn’t emit fumes.
In animal husbandry, according to Yol,
silence is important for animals since
milk production can drop when they are
constantly exposed to loud noises.
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