Mas La Plana vineyard, in Pacs del Penedès, has been the setting chosen by the American manufacturer Monarch to carry out the first demonstration in Spain of its electric and autonomous driving tractor. An innovative vehicle, which will be available in Europe from 2025 and will contribute to decarbonising the wine sector, as well as favouring a more environmentally friendly agricultural model.
The test has been carried out with two tractors of the MK-V model. Jean-Philippe Fejoz, Monarch's sales manager in Europe, explained the performance and advantages of this tractor to the attendees, mainly winegrowers and winemakers from Penedès and other wine regions, who had the opportunity to drive it.
The model developed by Monarch, which is already being marketed in the United States, is a 100% electric, autonomous and connected tractor, capable of carrying out most tasks in the vineyard. Connectivity allows remote adjustments to implements, start and stop operations as well as adjust the power take-off and tractor speed, from anywhere.
Familia Torres has hosted this demonstration in its vineyards due to its interest in learning about the latest advances in the electrification of the countryside. The winery plans to incorporate electric tractors in its vineyards and neutralise the emissions of their use with the charging of self-generated green electricity. This measure is part of its Torres & Earth climate action plan, with which it expects to reduce 60% of its CO2 emissions per bottle throughout its scope, from the vineyard to the consumer, by 2030 compared to 2008, and reach net zero emissions by 2040.