Komatsu’s New Wheel Loaders Improve Fuel Consumption, Engine Power and Climbing Speed

The WA485-11 offers up to 12 percent lower fuel consumption, 21 percent more engine power and 13 percent faster climbing speed compared to its predecessor, the WA480-8.
March 17, 2025
2 min read

Komatsu introduces the new WA475-11 and WA485-11 wheel loader models. These versatile machines are designed to move material efficiently and effectively, increasing productivity while also providing improved operator comfort and maintenance ease. Sharp focus has been put on reducing customers’ total cost of ownership, the company said.

The WA485-11 offers up to 12 percent lower fuel consumption, 21 percent more engine power and 13 percent faster climbing speed compared to its predecessor, the WA480-8. The WA475-11 provides up to 7 percent lower fuel consumption, 18 percent higher engine power and 40 percent greater climbing speed compared to the WA475-10.

Both loaders now include Komatsu Hydrostatic-Mechanical Transmission, equipped with improved fuel efficiency and productivity. Operators will appreciate the large comfortable four-pillar cab, angle feedback joystick steering and independent work control to help reduce fatigue on long operating days. The new wheel loaders also feature standard rear object detection to promote enhanced jobsite safety with a deluxe LED light package.

“In designing the WA475-11 and WA485-11, we focused on what truly matters to our customers based on years of direct customer feedback – efficiency, power, safety and operator comfort,” said Bruce Boebel, director of products and service at Komatsu. “These wheel loaders build on proven performance of previous models with innovative advancements designed to enhance productivity. We’re excited to introduce these machines and put them to use for our aggregate customers and beyond.”

Both models offer yard loader configurations that include additional stability features such as a larger bucket, wide low-profile tires, and additional counterweight designed to support higher productivity in aggregate applications.

For more information, contact a Komatsu distributor or visit komatsu.com.

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.

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