Environmental sustainability and increasingly stringent emission regulations are accelerating the electrification of non-road mobile machinery. While retrofitting presents a cost-effective path forward – particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturers – it often fails to unlock the full benefits offered by electrification. This shortfall is especially evident in machines that retain traditional hydraulic architectures, where energy inefficiencies persist. This study focuses on the virtual prototype of a retrofitted battery-powered material handler derived from an internal combustion engine variant, where the original load-sensing hydraulic system remains unchanged. Being previously validated, the virtual prototype is used to investigate a novel energy-saving control strategy. This strategy controls the electric motor speed based on the combined efficiency map of the electric motor and hydraulic pump, moving beyond conventional load-sensing control logic. The paper focuses on the modeling methodology for both components. Then, simulations show that control optimization based on combined efficiency reduces the energy consumptions compared to the baseline strategy. Indeed, overall efficiency of the machine increases from 36.6% to 39.1%. The proposed approach offers a cost-efficient pathway for improving performance without requiring extensive mechanical modifications, thus supporting broader electrification in the non-road mobile machinery industry.