10/06/2026

Electric Commercial Vehicles in Landscape and Outdoor Construction – A Field Report

Hendrik Bogie is managing director of TERRA VIRIDIS in Meerbusch, near Düsseldorf. The business has transformed from a production-focused nursery into a green interior design specialist. Back in 2020, when Bogie spun off his own company from the family business, he made a firm commitment to electric drives. In this interview, he shares the experience he’s gained since then. You can find out more about TERRA VIRIDIS on its website (in German). At GaLaBau, visitors can once again experience electric construction machinery.

Written by Karsten Köber

Electric transporter charging at the depot, team planning a route on a tablet — Electric fleet in everyday use: charging, planning, driving off – as routine

Hendrik Bogie in Interview – Why He’s Sold on Electric Drives

Which vehicle do you use for customer appointments?

Hendrik Bogie: I drive an electric car – that’s been second nature to me for years now. After we bought our first electric car in 2021, our entire car fleet is now electrically powered. In 2024, we also bought a van with an electric motor, and an electric flatbed truck will join the fleet this autumn. I keep an eye on how the market for electric commercial vehicles is developing, and I go for it whenever I find a model that suits our business.

Gardener trimming a hedge with a battery-powered hedge trimmer in a private garden — Battery instead of petrol: quiet hedge trimming in residential areas

First hand-held battery tools, then electric vehicles: what excites you about the technology?

Hendrik Bogie: Even before spinning off the company in 2020, I bought chainsaws, leaf blowers and hedge trimmers with battery drives, mainly from the established manufacturer Stihl. Back then, I was still an outlier for making that choice. But our customers quickly thanked me for it. We work on private construction sites 95 percent of the time, and it goes down well when the neighbours aren’t disturbed by rasping two-stroke engines. Another advantage is the lower maintenance costs. These are significantly lower for battery-powered equipment than for petrol-driven tools. I notice that very clearly in my business.

What do you think about electric construction machinery, such as electric wheel loaders and electric excavators?

Hendrik Bogie: We’ve already made good progress here too. In addition to our electric commercial vehicles, we own a battery-powered forklift and a fully electric self-propelled work platform. An electric wheel loader is the next step when it comes to our working machinery. This autumn, I’ll be visiting the GaLaBau trade fair in Nuremberg to find out about the latest trends in electric construction machinery. Who knows – maybe I’ll head back to Meerbusch with an order in my pocket.

You can find out more about GaLaBau’s demonstration areas for electric drives and other topics on:

Demonstration Area

Author

Karsten Köber

Gärtner, Landschaftsarchitekt und Journalist, Inhaber des Büros projekkt.com in Karlsruhe