Way back in the day (about 1990) I went to a dealership that picked up Kioti as a sideline, and I got the old line about Kioti had bought some of Kubotas old castings and were making basically old Kubota tractors. I've heard stuff off and on, but I think the long and the short of it is that the closest that the two companies come to being related is that their current offerings in America are both orange. I am sure that each other are aware of the other's existence and may copy features from each other, but I bet they probably copy features from other tractors too.
When I bought my new Kioti DK 45, I went to Little Tractor in Metropolis, IL and threw out the bait to James Little - "Hey, aren't these tractors the same as Kubota?" He didn't even bite a little, and said that they share no similarity, no long lost brothers that split, no engineer that got mad/fired and took designs to Korea/Japan, no industrial espionage and stolen designs; they are just two different tractor companies.
If I further understand, and I've just heard this from time to time, the Korean tractor companies (Daedong, TYM, Kukje (sp?)) are more closely related to each other than any of the Japanese tractor companies.
Also from what I gather, there is a lawsuit currently going on, being waged by Kubota against Kioti due to color and hood design (?) - I really don't know where that's going, but I don't think it's having an ill affect on Kioti.
There have been many, and probably will be many more, posts and conversations concerning Kioti vs. Kubota. In my shopping, I got a DK 45 from several thousand dollars less than a comparable Kubota, plus with a dealer that was willing to bend over backwards to help (Little Tractor) vs. a Kubota dealer that was really only interesting in selling me the M4900 2wd he had on his lot, when I repeatedly said I had to have a 4wd. There was a fella who posted probably a year ago that bought a Kubota MX5000 for a little less than my DK 45, and they are pretty close tractors I think, so actual pricing of Kiotis and Kubotas can and will probably vary widely based upon location and dealers. However, in my inspections, Kioti sacrifices nothing in quality, fit and finish, power, etc. to Kubota, so I don't think that Kioti is a step down from a Kubota at all.
As far as the Kia vs. Toyota thing, I knew some folks that had a few of the early Kia's and they weren't real happy. However, several of the folks I work with now own Kia's and are thrilled to death - after all, they've had them for three years and still have seven years of warranty left. When Toyota came to America, I don't think it enjoyed the reputation of quality that it currently carries. Kia and Hyundai (how do you spell that, anyway) have definately raised their level, I don't know about Daewoo - I don't see too many of them and I don't even know where the closest dealer is.
Long story short - Kubota makes an excellent tractor. Kioti makes an excellent tractor, but I don't think they share a family tree. Pick your models, pick your dealers, compare your featurs, compare your prices, pick your tractor.
Then come back and thumb your nose at the brand you didn't choose....just kidding.
Take it Easy
Tim Gray
