KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Sime Darby Industrial Sdn Bhd’s 50:50 joint venture company with the Netherlands-based Royal Terberg Group BV, Terberg Tractors Malaysia Sdn Bhd (TTM) has launched Malaysia’s first fully battery-powered electric terminal tractor, Model YT200EV.

The electric terminal tractor was originally designed for container handling in seaports; however, it can also be used in many industrial applications that involve moving heavy loads.

In a statement on Tuesday, TTM said the YT200EV terminal tractor, which is manufactured locally at TTM’s manufacturing and assembly facility in Pasir Gudang, Johor, will be made available for distribution by early December 2022.

TTM chief executive officer Boo Wei Ching said TTM is confident that this new addition to the industry will be a huge step to complement the region’s green aspirations through the incorporation of sustainable practices.

“As an industry leader, we at Terberg feel that it is our responsibility to actively take part in a solution towards combatting climate change.

“In addition to reducing carbon emissions, the YT200EV terminal tractor will also be able to significantly cut operating costs involving diesel and other fossil fuels used in conventional terminal tractors or trucks.

“We believe these benefits can be shared with more sectors, wider than ports and logistics, creating a larger impact from more environmentally-friendly practices across industries,” he said.

Boo said with the new terminal tractors, TTM is looking at doubling up its production capacity in Malaysia from 600 units of terminal tractors to meet the expected demand from its existing and new customers in new market segment in the next three years.

He said TTM has invested more than RM10 million to upgrade the current infrastructure which will enable to the increased output to cope with anticipated demand.