March 9, 2026 marked a significant milestone for the XCMG Group, as it successfully delivered the first of its larger mining trucks, the XDE260 diesel-electric model with AC drive, into the Australian market.
Jason Keays, Deputy GM of XCMG Australia stated: “This achievement represents not only a major step forward for our organisation, but also a strong demonstration of XCMG Australia’s growing capability and commitment to supporting large scale mining operations across the country.”
He added that the arrival of the XDE260 is the result of extensive collaboration, planning, and dedication from teams across multiple regions. The trucks were shipped complete from Lianyungang, China to Port Hedland, Western Australia. The current batch totals six trucks, with another six trucks set to arrive for the same customer for a fleet of 12. IM understands that these trucks are not for iron ore mining but for another mined commodity operation but the customer has not yet been indicated. These XDE260s are equipped with a Cummins QSK60 engine and Wabtec AC electric drive system.
In addition to this customer, XCMG is well advanced with its close partnership with Fortescue on the provision of battery electric mining trucks and ancillary fleet to its Pilbara iron ore operations, which could eventually involve up to 200 battery XDE260 units. The first of those trucks – the XDE260E – is set to arrive in 2028; but as already stated in IM, XCMG has already shipped other super large battery electric machine prototypes to Fortescue – the XC9260BEWL (battery electric wheel loader) and a sister machine, the XC9260BEWD (battery electric wheel dozer) which are set to arrive in June along with a XDE150E battery electric water truck and GR350EP grader.
XCMG continues to expand its footprint in the Australian mining sector, and Keays says it looks forward to many more successful deployments and long-term partnerships. This includes ensuring strong support on the service side – where in 2025, XCMG announced a strategic partnership with Emeco Holdings via its Force Group subsidiary; merging its world-class machinery with proven service excellence across Australia. That statement said: “With a shared commitment to innovation, reliability, and customer success, this collaboration marks a milestone for both companies and the wider mining industry.”
As part of its agreement with XCMG, Emeco and Force are working with XCMG to develop electric capabilities and ensure detailed support plans are in place for long term mining operations and fleet maintenance – including for the Fortescue contract. Services to be provided to XCMG include equipment commissioning, training, onsite labour and field maintenance, warranty servicing and repairs, offsite rebuild and engineering services, as well as project management and advisory services. Force’s existing national workshops and labour footprint will be utilised in partnership with XCMG’s technicians, parts and equipment inventory.
Keays concludes on the first large mining truck arrivals: “The future is incredibly promising, and this achievement reinforces our confidence in the growth and success of XCMG in Australia.” These XDE260 trucks add to a rapidly growing fleet globally including with Rio Tinto (SimFer), Ok Tedi Mining and Exxaro Resources amongst others.
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