Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four?

   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #1  

Riddler

Gold Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2004
Messages
262
Location
Sonoma County, CA
Tractor
New Holland TN75VA, New Holland TC45DA, New Holland TC18
I was talking to a dealer the other day who discovered recently that a Japanese gentlemen (and his companions) checking out the showroom late one afternoon was actually a high executive (he said President) of Yanmar. It is the dealer's view that after JD completes its phase out of Yanmar engines in a few years, Yanmar is going to step up in a big way and market a line of CUTs to compete with the big three for U.S. market share. Might just be groundless rumor, but from the comments of folks on this board, I get the sense that Yanmar might do well if it decided to go head to head with the green, blue and orange guys for a major share of the domestic CUT market. Certainly would benefit consumers if it happens.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #2  
I think it can be done as long as they provide a really good value and a support network.

IMHO I think the real challenge would be creating a sales/service network that, in addition to the value of the tractor, would move people to that brand. I think that is increasing harder to do in the major markets. I have been happy enough over all with my JD's that, at this point, it would take a lot to move me to Bue or Orange let alone something else......and I suspect there are others that feel the same.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #3  
Can Yanmar, Kioti or Mahindra make it the big 4, 5 or 6?

The problem I see is marketing & infrastructure.

I distribute a lot of different brands of goods, and today we had "All Sport" sport drink come in and make a presentation to us asking us to market their product against Gatorade. I already sell Gatorade in a 2 state area. Gatorade has 85% to 90% of the entire sport drink market. So even if All Sport tastes good, it is going to have to do a lot of work to make a real dent in the sales of Gatorade.

The same is true for any tractor company that wants to become a big player in the US CUT market. You can build a better tractor, but you have to have the infrastructure to support the brand (that means you need A LOT of dealerships and they better be GOOD dealerships). Then you need to have a lot tractor models to fill all the various niches in the market: Sub CUT, small frame CUT, mid frame CUT, large frame CUT. And you need good specs. And you need good design. And then you need really good MARKETING.

Take a look at Kioti. They have very few dealers in some areas (only 2 dealers within a 100 mile radius of Chicago, yet Chicago is in the heart of the midwest, has lots of suburban sprawl with lots of mini-farms, estate size yards, and plenty of agriculture around it). Kioti has a wide selection of tractors, lots of features, good marketing, but lacks infrastructure.

The very same thing can be said about Mahindra. Again, very good selection of tractors, features, etc. But they lack both marketing and infrastructure.

And Kioti & Mahindra are probably the best of the minor brands in many ways. Consider Massy Ferguson, they are an old name, but they too have virtually no presence in many areas. None of this is a judgement on any of their machines, it is a simple observation. Brands like Branson have it even tougher, they are very limited in their tractor choices, have minimal marketing and even fewer dealers. And the total number of dealerships is important, but more important is the number of really high quality dealerships, because many people never see anything beyond the local dealer and if the local dealer is a converted gas station with no service department and minimal parts supplies, then they are not going to instill a sense and feeling of quality (even if the tractor is the best tractor on the planet, the look & quality of the dealer network can undermine the brand).

Yanmar currently has some dealers for industrial equipment, it is likely that they will work with those dealerships first. But what about all the places in between those industrial dealers? Personally, I don't think I would want to start from scratch trying to market tractors in this market unless I could piggy back on a lot of quality dealerships. It might be easier to make a big push in one region of the country than it would to make a national push.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #5  
Bob has some good points. A case in point. I am in the process of buying a second larger tractor. I have posted on this main forum and the Koiti forum. I was all excited to purchase a Koiti tractor (DK65C or DK55C) and still would love to, but guess what after driving to the two closest dealerships 100+ miles one way, I will probably end up with a NH or JD. The reason is if I have a problem there will be no one near by to assist me. I am not going to pay to haul a 55-65hp tractor 200 miles round trip for warranty work. They may be good tractors but they are all made by humans and things happen. Another factor is the dealerships while the people were VERY nice and helpful, were very small and I got the feeling the every part I needed would have to be ordered. In my area of the county the big three have such a foot hold, even though you may love another brand you better be prepared to work on it yourself if you buy it. I do have a lot experience in a similar field (autos) with having sold and serviced lesser know brands. The points Bob brings out are true as I have seen this same thing in the automobile industry.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #6  
Just as a follow up, I went to the Kioti website, I plugged in my Zip Code and asked for dealers within 100 miles of my home (I'm located about 50 miles south/east of Chicago). Kioti has 2 dealers within 100 miles of me. They are the same 2 dealers that are within 100 miles of Chicago.

Mahindra as 5 dealers within 100 miles of my home, the closest is 39 miles away.

Branson has 1 dealer 8 miles from me, but I only know that because I bought a NH from that dealership, their website's dealer locator function is not operational. But, again, the Branson product selection is not even close the number and type of tractors that Kioti or Mahindra offer.

John Deere has 16 dealers within 50 miles of my home, I got tired of counting all the dealers within 100 miles of me. Kubota's website only lists the 3 closest dealerships in their Zip Code search, but all 3 are within 30 miles. New Holland doesn't give "miles to dealership" information, but they had 5 dealers show up in my search and 3 are what I would call "local" dealers, and if I add their clone CASE/FARMALL tractors tractors then I have a bunch more dealers that are still "local."

The reality is that with that many choices of dealers, why would a consumer drive 30, 50, 70 or 100 miles to go to even look at any other brand? Yanmar, or any other brand, really needs to get a physical presence in terms of the number of dealers and needs to then let people know about all their choices. That is a tough job.

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Just for chuckles, I dug up SWEET TRACTORS website and picked off their Zip Code. Ken, just to let you know about your competition, there are 8 Kioti dealers within 100 miles of you, and 2 of those 8 dealers are YOUR locations. You also have 5 Mahindra dealers within 75 miles. But there are 32 John Deere dealers within 100 miles of your Zip Code.

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Also, just one more point, I am NOT brand loyal as I own 4 different brands right now! I will buy what is best for the job I need done, but I am not likely to travel very far to get service, and I am not likely to buy from a dealer that does not offer full service. My Ventrac was brought down from Wisconsin, so that is proof I will buy from someone far away, but understand the dealer brought me the tractor to test on my property, with no obligation for me to buy it, he has sent FED EXed me supplies and truck freighted me additional implements. I got to test the tractor on my property and compare it to other brands, he will pick the tractor up for repairs, or get someone local to repair it for me (so far no repair issues) and so I feel like I have a local purchase. But I would not even consider the Ventrac if I had to drive 6 hours to central Wisconsin to pick it up, or to take it in for service!!! And I would not buy from a dealer that did not provide me a full service and full parts department. Time is money, and I don't have nearly enough time, just ask the lovely Mrs_Bob, she has a list of "honey dos" that will keep me busy for the next 30 or 40 years. The last thing I want is to have to spend a day trailering my tractors back to the dealer for warrenty work. If the tractor breaks, I want the dealer out to my house that afternoon, or the next morning. I'll pay a LITTLE bit more for that service, and it is worth it to me. But to be honest, the prices I've paid so far are some of the lowest I've seen for the brands I've purchased and my dealer support is nothing short of EXCELLENT. If Yanmar wants my business, I'll gladly buy their tractor, if their machine will meet my needs, at a price that is as good as any I can get, from a dealer who will give me what I already get. Maybe my market is different than some, but I hear similar stories from some of you so I can't imagine it is THAT different.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #7  
You bring up some interesting points.
"Big four" Would that be the 'biggest' four?

"Head to head" Are they not competing 'head to head' now?

"major share of the CUT market" That would mean number one, and that would be quite an accomplishment. Not sure how this satisfies the 'big four' contest.

Being in the "big four" seems to me to be accomplished when acing out all the other competitors, such as Kioti, Mahindra, etc. to then join the 'big three'.

Competition is good. I'm sure all the major companies as well as the minor ones are looking at 'each other' all the time and calculating how they can be 'one up' on the competition.

Thanks for stimulating some thoughts.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #8  
I for one would love to see yanmar put out a domestic line of tractors again.. they were always ahead of the game on fit/finish and technology. ( of course.. so was commedore.. bu their marketing was shooting them in the foot.. )

Soundguy
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #9  
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Yanmar might be able to finagle it but I seriously doubt that it will ever happen in my lifetime. It will take a lot more than just wild money to build brand loyalty and thats what it's going to take to sell the kinds of numbers that it will take to put Yanmar on a same scale with the other major players and keep them there. It will also take lots of good service technicians and a coast to coast network of dealers to set the plan in motion and expect it to gain momentum.
 
   / Could Yanmar Make It The Big Four? #10  
has anyone else heard this rumor that JD is moving away from using Yanmar engines? There are only a handful of small diesel manufacturers....and I cant see why they would leave Yanmar. But stranger things have happened. I just hope, if they enter the market, they dont pick the shocking yellow that their excavators are painted....
 
 
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