Wacker Neuson kicked off ConExpo by launching a new mini excavator: the 4-metric-ton ET40.
The compact excavator gets a redesigned cab featuring a 7-inch touchscreen display with customizable settings, keyless start and ergonomic layout to reduce fatigue.
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Coming in with an operating weight of 8,907 pounds, the ET40 delivers 39.6 net horsepower with its Yanmar 3TNV86CT diesel engine. Operators will be working with 7,980 pounds in breakout force and a maximum digging depth with the long stick of 11.2 feet.
The ET40 and other excavators in Wacker Neuson’s next-generation lineup feature a four-position door, which allows operators to not only slide open the top and bottom of the windshield but slide the entire piece up to the ceiling of the cab for a completely open view.
The ET40 can be configured with options such as coupler packages, auxiliary hydraulics and hydraulic thumb packages. A dozer blade with float function comes standard.
The ET40, which is made at Wacker Neuson’s plant in Menominee Falls, Wisconsin, is set to launch this year.
Redesigned Compartments, Boom Hose Layout
John Dotto, product application training specialist at Wacker Neuson, says the ET40 caters to landscapers, utility contractors, municipalities and fits well in the rental industry.
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“[The ET40] is for somebody who's got equipment to haul a machine this size, and they're looking for a little bit more productivity than you can get in the three-and-a-half-ton machine,” he says.
One change operators will notice on the ET40 is the boom swivel and auxiliary hydraulic controls have been moved from the floor into the joysticks. Operators will also find an electronic over hydraulic dozer blade joystick, for which flow rates can be adjusted through the touchscreen.
Dotto highlights the ET40’s improved visibility and safety made possible by redesigned hose layouts on the boom.
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“You want to make sure you have no obstructions to that front right corner of the machine, so you don't lose your place on a jobsite,” he says. “It's all about cleanliness of the routing of the hoses. We make sure that we keep things as much as we can inside the sidewall structure of the boom, so that we don't have snag points outside.”
The ET40 has easy access points for daily maintenance, including a redesigned fluid fill and check compartment that previously began with Wacker Neuson’s 2.5-ton compact excavators.
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“You’ve got one compartment here in which you can get to your diesel, fill your hydraulic, fill your engine coolant and fill washer fluid,” he says. “You've got your main battery disconnect here as well, and then your hydraulic sight glass is at the side. From a fluid standpoint, everything's under this one compartment, which is lockable.”
Contractors can opt for a straight or angle blade on the ET40, which also comes standard with an integrated rear camera. Thumb options are also available.
EZ35 Teased
Mentioned in press materials but not present at ConExpo 2026 is Wacker Neuson’s minimal-tailswing EZ35 compact excavator.
This upcoming 3-metric-ton excavator will offer much of the ET40’s new features including a redesigned cab with a new touchscreen, four-position door and redesigned boom hose layout.
Both the ET40 and EZ35 have been built on the same platform, allowing them to share the same components, operating systems and interfaces, which also simplifies operator training and long-term fleet ownership, the company says.
While the ET40 is nearing production, the EZ35 is set to launch later in 2026.
Wacker Neuson ET40 Excavator Preliminary Specs
- Engine: Yanmar 3TNV86CT
- Gross power: 43.4 horsepower
- Net power: 39.6 horsepower
- Operating pressure working hydraulics: 3,771 psi
- Hydraulic flow (AUX I / AUX II): 18.5 gpm / 10.6 gpm
- Breakout force: 7,980 pound-force
- Arm force (short dipper): 5,080 pound-force
- Max digging depth (long dipper): 11.2 feet
- Operating weight: 8,907 pounds
