Will the real Kioti (Daedong) please stand up?

[HayDR]

It seem as if Daedong is selling tractors in the USA under Daedong and Kioti. Why would Daedong do this? I doubt that Kioti dealers would warranty Deadong tractors amd likewise for Daedong. The Daedong tractors seem to be a little cheaper than the Kioti models. This is sending the USA customer mixed signals.
Some Daedong dealers:
Roberts Farm Equipment- Roanoke, VA
Beverage Tractor

 

[RobS]

Same as Ford Motor Company selling Fords as well as Mercury, Lincoln, Volvo, Mazda etc.? They may be positioning Kioti as their "premium" brand while keeping Daedong as a more value brand.

Just guessing, it is an interesting question though /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[HayDR]

You sure do not see John Deere or Kubota doing this. I'm just wondering why Kioti would allow Daedong to set up a dealer network separate of Kioti. If Daedong wanted to introduce a commodity line of tractors, why not sell them at their current Kioti dealers. This seems to hurt their own Kioti dealer network.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Rob I tend to think the comparision to Ford is not quite accurate. Ford historically sells it 3 brands through Ford and Lincoln/Mercury dealerships. Sometimes all 3 brands are combined, sometimes Ford stands apart from the other 2 dealerships. All 3, however, are clearly identified as Ford. In regards to Volvo, Mazda, Jaguar, Aston Marton and a few other brands, those are companies that Ford purchased part or all of, but allows them to market themselves under their former marketing channels. As each of those marques had their own character (either high end quality or sporty economy) Ford decided not to dilute them.

Daedong is Daedong around the world but in the US is Kioti. Daedong positioning itself as the economy tractor would seem like it would hurt its overall image here in the USA. Basically saying that the parent company is not a quality brand so it markets itself underneath its US brand, which certainly conveys a mixed signal.

My question is this, are these actually brand new grey market Daedong tractors that were not intended to be sold here in the US?

 

[Dargo]

Okay, I have to ask to see if anyone knows. What does "dong" mean in Korean? I used to work with a guy named Luong Dong. Really! Can you imagine the comments he got when he introduced himself?! And, yes, his first name was pronounced "long". /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I just wonder what "dong" means in Korea. They tag that on all sorts of things. Heck, my old work compadre told me that he was named after a famous long range missle that was made in Korea. Little did he know that his explanation only made things worse when explaining his name here in the U.S. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[DK35vince]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My question is this, are these actually brand new grey market Daedong tractors that were not intended to be sold here in the US?)</font>

That is my question also Bob.
If you notice, the 2nd site listed "Beverage Tractor" only shows DaeDong tractors listed under used machines.

 

[slowzuki]

I'd bet they are gray's.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

What is really interesting, in an unusal way, is the 1st website.

I'm using the Firefox web browser and it allows ZOOMING in on images that won't fit on the screen. So I went back and looked a little closer to some of the details.

Take a look at the images of the tractors (under the hood, and dashboard photos) and look how clean everything is, look at the condition of the stickers, cables, etc under the hood. Those are in PERFECT condition so they are either new tractors or the tractors have be cleaned perfectly and new stickers have been placed on them.

ALSO, take a look at the ball ends of the lower links, there is no sign of a scratch or use or rust of any type on those.

ALSO, look at the dashboard, it says DAEDONG on the dash. . . but the steering wheel says KIOTI.

I am begining to wonder if there is something odd going on. These don't look like used grey market tractors that I have seen. Most of the used grey market tractors I see around look used, even the ones that have a fresh coat of paint to hide their battle scars and abuse.

FURTHER, if you think about it, Kioti is apparently ONLY marketed here in the US/Canada. So why is there a Kioti steering wheel? A grey market tractor should NOT have a Kioti brand insignia on it, it should be marked Daedong throughout.

These don't look used. They are either brand new or someone did one heck of a restoration job. What is up here???

 

[slowzuki]

I'm thinking someone has figured they can make some money importing new gray tractors from an english market area. I suspect Kioti decalled stuff gets onto tractors in other markets when that is all that is in stock.

 

[JayC]

I'd have to agree with slowzuki. At first I was thinking those are just grey market machines, especially after seeing that one site with the used ones. But then seeing how new they look, they are probably new import gray markets. Don't some people do this with Yanmars? The one Daedong in one of the photos has a Kioti canopy. Go figure. Also, I wonder why some of the tractors have white wheels like the ones overseas, but others have orange ones like the domestic models. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

<font color="orange"> Will the real Kioti (Daedong) please stand up? </font>

Btw, I hate that "song." /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif