This report concerns the market in Italy for mini excavators capable of being turned through 360 degrees. The machines may be mounted on tracks or wheels, but the great majority are on rubber or steel tracks and range from 0.8 to 6.0 tonnes. Machines below 0.8 tonnes are considered by the industry to be micro excavators, while units in the 6.0 to 11.0 tonne weight class are commonly referred to as compact or midi excavators. Neither type is included in this report.

The mini excavators of today are a development of Japanese machines first brought to Europe in the late 1970s. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the European market expanded enormously and reached 70,000 units in 2007, only to plummet to fewer than 30,000 machines in 2009. Italy was late to adopt the wider enthusiasm for these machines, but then compensated for this delay with rapid expansion that saw it become one of Europe’s largest mini excavator markets. As with other countries it then suffered a steep fall in sales after the financial crisis of 2008. This persisted longer than many other markets in Europe, though the machine remained the most popular single product in the country. What is more, the past ten years have seen strong growth, with sales increasing by 298 per cent and the market once again becoming one of the most important in Europe. The country remains home to five manufacturers.

This report is an update of the report published on the same subject by Off-Highway Research in March 2020 and examines the changes that have taken place since then. The findings are based on Off-Highway Research’s International Database, and on information collected during an extensive interview programme in Italy undertaken in early and mid-2024 which included leading manufacturers, importers and distributors.