Burning less fuel while moving more material was a key selling point for John Deere¢â‚¬â„¢s unveiling of its 744 X-Tier wheel loader.

The 744X-Tier is new to the John Deere line of mid to large-sized hybrid E-Drive wheel loaders. 

¢â‚¬Å“We are introducing an electrified drivetrain component, specifically, an electric variable transmission in this machine that we anticipate has a lot of similar qualities to our 644 X-Tier and 944 X-Tier wheel loaders,¢â‚¬Â said Luke Gribble, solutions marketing manager wheel loaders, John Deere Construction and Forestry Division.

He said the 744 X-Tier wheel loader is expected to be available in 2024. Gribble said the 824 X-Tier utility wheel loader also will be introduced at the same time.

"So not only are we bringing the 744 X-Tier to market sometime soon, but the 824 X-Tier will also join our fleet at that same time," he said.

For the 744 X-Tier in particular, Gribble anticipates one of the lead applications to be aggregates, whether it be working in a standard gravel pit in the bottom of a quarry loading trucks or at a ready mix or asphalt plant.

¢â‚¬Å“We do anticipate that there's going to be a lot of interest from the aggregate sector with customers moving towards more solutions like this,¢â‚¬Â he said. ¢â‚¬Å“That would be probably the target and we're expecting a lot of activity with this machine.¢â‚¬Â

John Deere has been active with hybrid loaders since 2013 with the introduction of the 644K Hybrid wheel loader, which has since evolved into the 644 X-Tier.

Like its smaller cousin, the 944K Hybrid also has been rebranded as the 944 X-Tier to align with John Deere's performance tiering strategy.

¢â‚¬Å“All our loaders that we used to call hybrids are now being badged as this X-Tier designation with the E-Drive systems, an electric drive system,¢â‚¬Â Gribble said.

John Deere¢â‚¬â„¢s E-Drive machines feature an electrified drivetrain with a diesel engine as the primary power source. 

Gribble noted that the E-Drive machines like the 644 X-Tier, 944 X-Tier, and new 744 X-Tier, enable better fuel economy, improved powertrain component life, and stronger pushing power on the job than traditional models.

To date, via the available 644 X-Tier and 944 X-Tier machines, under their previous branding, he said John Deere has gotten nearly 3 million hours of service since they have been available.

For now, at its size class, the 944 X-Tier is the only model available to customers.

Gribble said the 744 X-Tier wheel loader is going through its final validation phase as all of John Deere's machines do to ensure they are hitting all the marks for what customers can expect.