The Fendt e107 Vario battery-electric tractor needs only 42% of the energy the diesel Fendt 207 Vario burns for the same work, and the four-journalist team running a two-week side-by-side test in Norway and the Netherlands unanimously preferred the electric machine.

The trial paired the e107 and a 207 Vario through a Norwegian winter and a Dutch summer. Both tractors share the AGCO ML75 CVT transmission, with the diesel engine swapped for a 100 kWh battery and a Danfoss 500-volt AC motor. The electric tractor is only 220 kg heavier than its diesel sibling, with 56.2% of weight on the front axle against 53% for the 207 — a distribution that lets Fendt drive the PTO, hydraulics and rear wheels from the same standard rear axle.

How does the e107 perform under load?

Three modes govern output: Eco at 68 hp, Dynamic at 75 hp, and Dynamic Plus, a one-minute boost to 90 hp. Even in Eco, the e107 posts higher power and torque than the 207 on a power tester, with the diesel pulling fractionally ahead only near 1,800 rpm.

With a 1,730 kg Kuhn 162-300 rotary tiller, the e107 held motor speed steadier, vibrated less and stayed measurably quieter. Over a 30-minute timed run the diesel used 5 litres of fuel and 0.3 litres of AdBlue; the electric tractor used 21.2 kWh for the same work.

How long does the battery actually last?

Runtime tracks the job closely. Heavy continuous PTO work — tilling, snow blowing — drains the 100 kWh pack in two to two-and-a-half hours. Front-loader work, sweeping and sand spreading stretch runtime past seven hours, helped by regenerative braking that recaptures energy every time the motor brake engages.

Across the test the e107 consumed 23.2 kWh on a 19 km transport run with a 10-tonne trailer, against the 207's 6.34 litres of diesel. Translating one litre of diesel at roughly 10 kWh, the electric driveline converts more of that energy into tractive work and far less into heat.

How much quieter is it?

The electric tractor measures 67.2 dB(A) at top speed against 69.6 dB(A) for the diesel. The gap widens at low speed and from outside: at full throttle from three metres the diesel hits 92.4 dB(A) while the e107 reads 78 dB(A). The cab itself warms 3°C higher after ten minutes in the e107, and Fendt now offers scheduled cab pre-heating during charging. Testers reported an intermittent whining noise whose origin Fendt could not pin down.

Can the e107 handle a Scandinavian winter?

Yes. In Norway the e107 drove a snow blower without the brief engine-speed dip the diesel shows when biting into a pile. Front-loader response was also more immediate — moving the joystick lifted the bucket instantly rather than waiting for engine revs. In a 30-minute pallet-moving test, both machines moved exactly 272 pallets; the diesel used 1.98 litres of fuel and 0.12 litres of AdBlue, the e107 used 7.5 kWh.

What does charging look like on farm?

AC charging tops out at 22 kW. DC fast charging requires 800-volt infrastructure and brought the pack from 20% to 80% in 45 minutes during the trial. A 35% to 100% charge took 1 hour 10 minutes. Fendt does not yet support the 400-volt DC car chargers common across Europe, though a mobile AC-to-DC converter can deliver up to 40 kW. On a Norwegian farm with 230V supply, the team charged overnight and topped up during lunch without losing working hours.

What is the catch?

The e107 carries roughly a €60,000 premium over the 207 Vario. Fendt has no announced plan to grow the 100 kWh pack, though an unused front connector hints at a future range extender. Below 20% charge the motor limits to 53 kW; at 2% the e107 cuts output to 27 kW before shutting down about two-and-a-half minutes after the display hits zero, leaving a buffer that protects cell life.

What does this mean for autonomous field robots?

Field robots do not need to carry a driver, heat a cab or run air conditioning. They can also be designed around an electric drivetrain from the start, instead of grafting batteries into a conventional tractor layout. The hardware now reaching production in the e107 is the same hardware that will eventually power the next generation of autonomous machines. Watch for Fendt's next battery-capacity move and for rival platforms to adopt 400-volt DC compatibility.