Komatsu Ltd. last week announced it will begin assembling diesel-electric hybrid excavators in China later this year. The company hopes to sell 700 of the hybrid machines from April through the end of the year.

The diesel-electric hybrid excavators are designed to use 25-percent less fuel than conventional diesel-powered models.

Komatsu began test marketing the hybrid machines in Japan last year and the company says that it plans to sell 500 of the newly produced units in China, which represents nearly 10 percent of the company’s global sales.