CONEXPO-CON/AGG is back. March 3-7, Las Vegas Convention Center, 2.9 million square feet of exhibition space, roughly 2,000 exhibitors, and — if the last few years are any indication — more electric and autonomous announcements than you can keep track of.

The show happens every three years. The last one was 2023. A lot has changed since then. EquipmentShare went public. Hitachi is rebranding to LANDCROS. The tariff situation has reshuffled pricing across the board. And nearly every major OEM now has at least one battery-electric model either in production or close to it.

Here’s what’s actually worth paying attention to next week.

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The Electric Push Is Real Now

Three years ago, electric equipment at CONEXPO felt like a science fair. Cool prototypes, lots of renderings, not much you could actually buy. That’s different this time.

Hitachi Construction Machinery is bringing the ZX135-7EB, a 13-ton battery-electric excavator that can run continuously when plugged into grid power. That’s not a gimmick — that’s a machine you could actually put on an urban job site where noise and emissions restrictions make diesel a non-starter.

CASE is showing over 40 machines, including a new electric mini track loader. New Holland is highlighting its electric lineup alongside new D-Series mini excavators. And those are just the big names. The compact electric segment has exploded since 2023, with multiple manufacturers now offering battery-powered mini excavators and skid steers that are actually shipping to customers.

The question isn’t whether electric equipment works anymore. It’s whether the charging infrastructure and battery supply chain can keep up with demand. If you’re running jobs in municipalities that are tightening emissions rules, the machines to replace your diesel compact fleet are on the show floor right now.

Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Tech

Caterpillar has been running autonomous haul trucks in mining for years. At CONEXPO 2026, the company is expanding that story with next-generation autonomous and electrified machines aimed at the broader construction market.

SANY is going big on smart tech — they’re demoing SASA, their AI Service Assistant, and RootPilot, their autonomous operation system. They’re bringing 32 machines and 17 attachments total, with 10 models designed specifically for North America. That’s an aggressive push into a market where SANY has been gaining ground steadily.

John Deere is showing P-Tier motor graders with integrated digital grade control and what they’re calling “advanced safety features.” The Deere strategy has been consistent: buy the tech companies (they acquired Tenna for telematics earlier this year) and bake the capability directly into the iron.

Leica Geosystems is expanding its 3D machine control aftermarket portfolio to include Cat Next Gen wheeled excavators. This matters because it means operators running older or mixed fleets can retrofit grade control without being locked into a single OEM’s ecosystem.

DEVELON (formerly Doosan) is launching next-generation excavators and running a compact equipment experience area where attendees can actually operate a mini excavator and compact track loader. They’re also doing mixed reality and VR demos — useful for understanding what machine guidance looks like from the cab.

The Compact Equipment Battle Heats Up

The compact segment is where the real market share war is happening. Mini excavators, compact track loaders, and skid steers are the volume machines for most contractors, and every major manufacturer wants a bigger slice.

Yanmar is unveiling new products to strengthen its compact portfolio for North America. Bobcat is showing automated shifting and cab upgrades on the B730 M-Series backhoe loader. New Holland is debuting D-Series mini excavators.

SANY’s 10 new North American models lean heavily into this space. The company has been price-competitive from day one, and they’re backing it up with expanded dealer networks and parts availability. Whether that’s enough to pull market share from Kubota, Bobcat, and Deere is the real story to watch through 2026.

For small contractors — the ones running one or two machines — the compact segment announcements are probably the most relevant part of the entire show. These are the machines most of you are actually buying.

The Show Floor Layout

If you’re planning your route, here’s the layout:

West Hall is where the earthmoving equipment lives — dozers, excavators, graders, skid steers, and compact track loaders. This is where you’ll find CASE with their 40-plus machine lineup and most of the compact equipment exhibitors.

Festival Grounds is the heavy stuff. Big earthmoving machines, cranes, lifting equipment, and the automated systems demos. If you want to see machines actually move dirt, this is where to go.

Education sessions are spread throughout. There are 150 sessions total, with new tracks for women in construction, small business owners, and fleet maintenance professionals. The fleet maintenance track is worth noting — it’s the first time CONEXPO has specifically targeted the people who keep machines running, not just the people who buy them.

The new Ground Breakers Keynote Stage is focusing on AI, sustainability, and connected systems. If you’re trying to understand where the industry is heading in the next 3-5 years, the keynote programming is a decent crash course.

What We’re Watching

The EquipmentShare story is one to follow. They went public on NASDAQ as EQPT in January 2026, and this will be their first CONEXPO as a publicly traded company. Their model — rental combined with proprietary technology — is different from the traditional rental houses, and their booth presence will signal how aggressively they’re going after the contractor market.

The Doosan Bobcat / Wacker Neuson acquisition talks fell through. Both companies will have booths. The competitive dynamics in the compact segment just got more interesting because that deal dying means both companies are now trying to grow organically in the same market space.

Hitachi’s LANDCROS rebrand takes effect in April 2027, so this is essentially the last CONEXPO where you’ll see the Hitachi name on construction equipment. That’s a bigger deal than it sounds — brand recognition matters in this industry, and a complete rename is a bold move.

The tariff impact will be the elephant in every conversation on the show floor. With steel tariffs at 50%, equipment pricing has shifted meaningfully since 2023. Watch for how manufacturers are framing their pricing strategies and whether any are using CONEXPO to announce domestic manufacturing expansions.

Practical Tips If You’re Going

Register now if you haven’t. conexpoconagg.com has the full exhibitor directory and education schedule.

Wear comfortable shoes. 2.9 million square feet is not a joke. You will walk more in one day at CONEXPO than most people walk in a week.

Book dinners early. Las Vegas during CONEXPO is packed. Every steakhouse within a mile of the convention center will have a two-hour wait by 6 PM.

Bring business cards. Yes, physical ones. The equipment industry still runs on handshakes and paper cards, and CONEXPO is where relationships start.

Talk to the engineers, not just the sales reps. The people who actually designed the machines are usually somewhere on the booth. They’ll tell you things the marketing materials won’t.

The Bottom Line

CONEXPO 2026 is going to be the biggest one yet. The industry is at a turning point — electric equipment is going mainstream, autonomous tech is moving from mining into general construction, and the competitive landscape has been reshuffled by IPOs, failed acquisitions, and tariff-driven pricing changes.

Whether you’re a fleet manager running 50 machines or a one-truck operator looking at your first mini excavator, there’s something on this show floor that will affect how you do business in the next three years.

We’ll be covering the show all week. Follow Equipment Insider on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram for real-time updates from the floor.