Challenge
In 2016, no major manufacturer offered a fully electric skid-steer loader. Yet indoor demolition, food and pharmaceutical facilities, tunnelling and noise-sensitive urban sites all needed a compact loader that produced no exhaust and little noise — and the industry still assumed a machine this size had to run on diesel.
Approach
KOVACO designed a fully electric skid steer from the ground up — not a diesel machine with a battery added on. Three independent electric motors, two for drive and one for hydraulics, run off a 96 V lead-acid battery pack engineered to double as the machine's counterweight. It kept full compatibility with standard attachments, and an optional remote-control system let the operator step out of dust, noise and hazardous zones entirely.
Result
The Elise 900 reached a 900 kg rated capacity — up to 1,200 kg in the Elise 1200 — with zero emissions, at a time the trade press reported it as the world's first fully electric skid-steer loader, years before Bobcat, Volvo and JCB brought their own electric models to market. Designed, prototyped and built in-house at KOVACO.
Rated capacity 900 kg (Elise 1200: 1,200 kg)/ Operating weight ≈ 3,300–3,800 kg/ Three independent electric motors/ 96 V lead-acid battery (doubles as counterweight)/ Zero emissions/ Optional remote control/ Compatible with standard skid-steer attachments
