Production of the compact track loader has started in Dobris, pairing the 600-frame M-Series platform with a Stage V engine that meets the standard without aftertreatment fluid
The new Bobcat T650 is now coming off the line at the company’s plant in Dobris, in the Czech Republic. It sits on the familiar 600-frame M-Series platform, and under the woods a 2.4-litre Bobcat engine rated at 55 kW, or 74 HP, that is fully Stage V compliant without needing AdBlue.
For anyone running a mixed fleet of compact machines, that detail is not a footnote. AdBlue means a second fluid to stock, a tank to keep topped up, a dosing system that can fault, and a machine that derates when it does. On a compact track loader that moves between jobsites several times a week, often operated by whoever is available that morning, removing that dependency removes a class of downtime that has nothing to do with the work itself.
Rated operating capacity is 1192 kg, enough for truck loading, pallet handling and general earthmoving.
The vertical lift path, steel frame and cooling system are specified for sustained work rather than intermittent duty. Attachment changes run through Bobcat’s proprietary Bob-Tach mounting system, and optional High-Flow hydraulics open the machine up to the more demanding end of the attachment range.
Machine IQ telematics comes as standard rather than as an option, which matters more for fleet owners than for owner-operators. It puts utilisation and performance data on every unit from day one, without a retrofit decision to make or a subscription to remember.
The cab is positioned forward with a fully transparent door, a layout aimed at direct sightlines to the attachment and the work area. LED working lights extend the usable day, which on urban sites in winter is a real constraint rather than a specification-sheet nicety.
“The new T650 brings together everything operators expect from a Bobcat, toughness, power and agility, with a level of comfort and refinement that makes a real difference on the job,” said Katinka Kincses, Bobcat Product Manager for loaders. “It’s a compact machine that packs a serious punch, with precise controls, excellent visibility and fast cycle times to help operators get more done.”
Cycle times and visibility are where compact track loaders are won and lost. In the sub-two-tonne-capacity class the machines are close enough on paper that the difference shows up in how many loads an operator gets through in a shift, not in the spec table.
Compact track loaders have been one of the more resilient segments
through the recent softness in construction equipment, carried by rental fleets, landscaping, utilities and the kind of urban infill work that leaves no room for anything larger. Dobris is Bobcat’s European manufacturing base, and starting production there rather than importing puts the T650 close to the markets where that demand sits.
The machine is available with Bobcat’s full attachment portfolio. What Bobcat has not published is pricing or a market-by-market availability schedule.
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