Australia’s Top 10 Excavator Brands

What are the top excavator brands in Australia? Well, in the early days of construction and earthmoving, there were only a few key manufacturers in the excavator game. Now, there are new manufacturers popping up everywhere. So, how do you know which brands live up to their hype?

To make things easy for you, we’ve found Australia’s top 10 excavator brands based on highest retained value, lowest cost of operation (LCO) (both according to EquipmentWatch), our Machines4U search traffic volumes, and our brand search data.

1. Caterpillar
2. Komatsu
3. CASE
4. Kubota
5. Volvo
6. JCB
7. Yanmar
8. Kobelco
9. John Deere
10. Wacker Neuson

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1. Caterpillar

Thanks to their huge brand presence, and dedication to making quality machinery, Caterpillar tops our list. Not only hugely popular with our website users, Caterpillar have plenty of awards to showcase their dedication to quality and longevity. When it comes to their excavators, Caterpillar have won the Highest Retained Value Award (HRVA) year after year, winning at least one (and sometimes multiple) category every year since 2016.

Related: Caterpillar Or Komatsu Excavators? 

2. Komatsu

Komatsu has a strong connection to the Australian construction industry, supplying high-quality kit to Aussie worksites since 1965. As the trailblazers in hybrid excavators, releasing the world’s first hybrid excavator (the PC200-8) in 2008, Komatsu is constantly innovating. It’s their huge brand presence, high-volume searches and their recent award win in the EquipmentWatch HRVA that has secured them second place in our list.

Related: Excavator Comparison: Komatsu Vs Caterpillar   

3. CASE

Hitting third place is CASE Construction, supporting construction needs since their establishment in 1842. They secure third place thanks to their quality builds, dedication to operator comfort, brand presence and having previously taken out awards for HRVA and LCO in the EquipmentWatch awards. Their vast range of excavator sizes ensures they have a piece of kit for all kinds of applications, and perhaps more importantly, their after-sales support is solid.

4. Kubota

Specialising in excavators ranging from 0.8 – 8.2 tonne, Kubota focus on building tough excavators for even tougher Australian conditions. They may not have the largest range of excavators compared to other brands in this list, but their laser focus on the smaller machines has boosted them to 4th place. Taking out the HRVA for the compact excavator category, Kubota prove their machines are high-quality, built to be long lasting even in the harsh Aussie climates.

Related: Kubota U35-4 Excavator Focus 

5. Volvo

Next up is Volvo. Founded in 1832, Volvo is one of the longest established brands on our list. That means 180 years of design, development, innovation and improvements. And it certainly shows. Volvo is a prominent name in the EquipmentWatch Awards, having collected 4 excavator category awards collectively since 2016 for LCO and HRVA. Always looking to the future, Volvo know their work is never done—they’ve even built a working 70-tonne, dual-powered, cable-connected excavator prototype that emits no carbon. With Volvo excavators, the future of construction is looking cleaner than ever.  

6. JCB

Putting operators at the heart of their excavator designs has really paid off, landing JCB 6th position on our list. Ranging from 1 tonne to 37T, JCB have built an excavator for almost any job. They also have wheeled excavators for those who need versatile mobile performance and quick transport to a worksite. Winning LCO awards in 2018 and 2019 for the compact excavator and small excavator categories, these excavators are high-quality and low-cost long-term.

7. Yanmar

Next up in 7th place is Yanmar. While missing out on EquipmentWatch awards, Yanmar is our third most-searched excavator brand on our website. And while general search traffic is slightly smaller for Yanmar over Kobelco, their brand presence is much stronger. Yanmar are also the manufacturers of the world’s first compact excavator and now have 2 model series ranging from 0.8T to 10T.

8. Kobelco

Snapping at Yanmar’s heels is Kobelco, specialists in all things excavators. With one of the largest ranges of excavators in this list (they offer 15 mini excavator models alone), it’s no wonder Kobelco have made our list. When it comes to search traffic on Machines4U, Kobelco dominate, taking third place against all other excavator brands.

9. John Deere

You may be surprised to see the green machine manufacturer in our list of excavator brands. That’s because, while John Deere have mastered farming machinery, they have also created some pretty solid forestry swing machines. Technically they aren’t your typical ‘excavator’, but we think they deserve a mention. Though their selection may be a lot smaller than the other brands on this list, they’ve also won 2018 and 2019 EquipmentWatch highest retained value award for large excavators. However, these excavators don’t seem to be available in Australia, which is why Deere comes in at number 9.

10. Wacker Neuson

Coming in at number 10 and closing off our top 10 list is Wacker Neuson excavators. Dedicated to providing unwavering commitment to customers for reliability, performance and innovation, this brand has become renowned across Australia. With plenty of search traffic on Machines4U, Wacker Neuson has earned their top 10 position in our list of best excavator brands in Australia.

Honourable Mention: Hitachi

With solid search traffic and plenty of listings on Machines4U, we couldn’t end this list without mentioning Hitachi. Founding their Australian brand Hitachi Australia Pty Ltd. in 1983, they’ve been supplying quality construction equipment to the market for over 30 years. A solid excavator brand worth mentioning!

Do you agree with our list? Let us know below!