What's New From Bobcat in 2026: A Roundup for Skid Steer and Compact Track Loader Buyers

Sep 20

5 min read

Bobcat didn't just update a few models this year — it restructured its entire compact loader lineup. Gone are the M-Series and R-Series designations that contractors have used to sort Bobcat loaders for over a decade. In their place: a straight choice between Classic and Pro. Combined with real updates to the excavator, backhoe, and Toolcat lines, this is the most changes Bobcat has made in a single year in recent memory. Here's what actually changed, model by model, and what it replaces.

Classic or Pro: Bobcat Rebuilds the Skid Steer and CTL Lineup

Seventeen new models debuted at CONEXPO 2026, split into two tiers. The Pro lineup — the T64-2, T66-2, T76-2, and T86-2 compact track loaders, plus the S64-2, S66-2, S76-2, and S86-2 skid steers — replaces the old R-Series and adds technology that simply didn't exist on the outgoing machines. The flagship T86-2 picks up a 5-hp bump to 115 hp and a foot more lift height (12 feet total) over its R-Series predecessor, plus an 8-inch touchscreen, a rear camera, and Bobcat's new AI voice-command system, called Jobsite Companion, which automates more than 50 machine functions by voice.

Four selectable drive modes — Balanced, Agile, Dynamic, and Charged — let an operator tune throttle and hydraulic response to the task, whether that's fine-grading with a box blade or running a mulcher flat-out. Safety tech jumped too: Bobcat View cameras, rear object detection and avoidance radar, and 360-degree people detection are standard across the Pro line, which matters on any site with ground crews working near the machine.

The Classic lineup — the T450, T595, T650, and T770 CTLs, and the S70, S450, S590, S650, and S770 skid steers — keeps the familiar M-Series model numbers and a simpler, joystick-first control package aimed at landscapers, rental fleets, and general contractors who want a proven, lower-cost machine without the Pro line's technology stack. Operating weights across Classic span 2,892 to 10,515 lbs and 23.5 to 92 hp, covering everything from a walk-behind-adjacent mini loader up to a full workhorse CTL. Both lineups ship summer 2026. For the full side-by-side against Caterpillar's own Next Generation relaunch, see our skid steer and compact track loader buyer's guide and our direct Bobcat vs. Caterpillar comparison.

E63 Compact Excavator: More Muscle in the Tail-Swing Class

The Bobcat E63 made its CONEXPO debut as the replacement for the E60 in Bobcat's compact tail-swing excavator class. The jump isn't just a horsepower bump — Bobcat rebalanced the undercarriage for better side-slope stability and increased arm digging force, which matters directly to a utility or foundation contractor working a sloped lot or reaching deep into a trench without the machine wanting to walk on uneven ground.

B760 Backhoe Loader: Bobcat Pushes Deeper Into a Legacy Category

The B760 backhoe loader continues Bobcat's push into a category historically dominated by Caterpillar and John Deere. Running a standard extendable arm to 18.4 feet of dig depth and 96 horsepower, the B760 targets utility, municipal, and general contractors who want backhoe capability without a dedicated backhoe dealer relationship outside their existing Bobcat account.

UW56 and UW53 Toolcat: The Utility Workhorse Gets Smarter

The UW56 and UW53 Toolcat utility work machines replaced the old 5600-series Toolcat with a redesigned LED lighting package, an enhanced dual-drive response system with automatic recall of drive settings, and a fully redesigned interior built around a 5-inch display. Bobcat also moved the road lights into the front fenders and added an optional rear-view camera on the UW56 for a clear line of sight around the ball hitch — a small change that matters a lot when you're hitching a trailer solo on a jobsite.

Forestry Cutter: Storm Cleanup and Land Clearing Without the Rental Wait

Bobcat's forestry cutter attachment, paired with the Pro T76-2, turns a compact track loader into a genuine land-clearing tool for brush, saplings, and storm-downed timber. For contractors who pick up land-clearing and storm-recovery work seasonally, owning this combination outright rather than chasing a rental mulcher head during the exact week every other contractor in the region wants one too is often the difference between billing the job this week or losing it to whoever already owns the equipment.

Who Actually Needs Which Tier

A landscaping company running mulch, sod, and hardscape jobs is a natural fit for a Classic-tier T650 or S650 — proven, simple, and cheaper to insure. A demolition contractor tearing down structures and sorting debris all day benefits more from the Pro T86-2's object detection and camera package, since that's a jobsite with ground crews, dumpsters, and pedestrians moving around the machine constantly. A roofing or general contracting outfit that needs an excavator for footings one week and a backhoe for a septic tie-in the next is exactly who the E63 and B760 combination is built for — two machines from one dealer network instead of juggling relationships with a mini-excavator brand and a separate backhoe brand.

What This Means for Your Next Equipment Purchase

The Classic/Pro split is Bobcat's way of admitting something contractors already knew: not every job needs an AI voice assistant and 360-degree radar, and not every contractor wants to pay for it. If you're running a rental fleet or doing general landscape and site work, a Classic-tier T650 or S650 gets the job done at a lower entry cost. If you're running mixed grading, demolition, and site-development work where operator efficiency and safety tech pay for themselves in fewer incidents and faster cycle times, the Pro tier — especially the T86-2 — is worth the premium.

Either way, the calculation on renting versus owning doesn't change: a rental house is going to mark up its own financing cost and depreciation into your monthly rate no matter which tier you choose, and every month you rent is a month you're not building equity toward the next machine. BFC structures financing so a contractor moving from a Classic S650 to a Pro T86-2 two years from now isn't starting from zero — it's a growth path, not a one-time transaction.

A Worked Example: What the Toolcat Actually Saves a Utility Contractor

Take a site-utility contractor who needs a UW56 for roughly six months a year — spring and fall pipe-laying seasons plus summer punch-list work — and would otherwise cobble together a pickup, a trailer, and a rented mini skid steer for the rest. A Toolcat rental in this class typically runs $2,800 to $3,600 a month; call it $3,200. Six months of seasonal rental is $19,200 a year, every year, and you're competing with every other contractor in the region for the same rental units during peak spring pipe season — which is exactly when you need the machine most and exactly when it's hardest to get.

Financed over a typical term, a UW56 in this price class often lands near or below that same $3,200 monthly rental cost once spread across a full year, except the contractor is building equity every month instead of renting the same machine back every spring. After five years of seasonal rental, that's close to $96,000 spent with nothing to resell — versus a financed Toolcat that still carries real resale value and is sitting in the yard, ready, the day the ground thaws.

Ready to Put This Equipment to Work?

Renting by the month adds up fast, and every dollar you spend on a rental is a dollar that never builds equity toward owning the machine. BFC Equipment Loans structures financing so you own the asset and build a track record toward your next piece of equipment, instead of waiting five-plus years to qualify for growth. Visit our home page to see how we work with contractors, apply for equipment financing to get a decision started, or browse our current buy/sell inventory of excavators, dozers, backhoes, and loaders ready to move onto your jobsite.