Are the new Bobcats selling?

[Revturbo9967]

I was in the market for a compact tractor recently and priced out quite a few brands and Bobcat was in there as well. The CT2025 was a little large for what I wanted but considered it. I contacted my local dealer whom had only three total tractors in stock all which were not a CT2025. They told me it would be around the new year time frame to get what I was looking for. Pricing wasn't very attractive either so I kept looking at other brands. Fast forward two and a half months later to now and that dealer still has the same three tractors on their lot. Now my local Kubota dealer is moving a lot of machines right now, as I'm sure many others are due to high demand. Does anyone think Bobcats tractors will be left in the dust with the current market demands being so high? I'm wondering if covid wrecked their grand opening so to say seeing they are just in the beginning stages of getting these machines to the dealers while the rest of the manufactures have the capacity to meet demand.

This certainly isn't to bash Bobcat as I believe these are good machines. I just have a hunch these tractors will not take off as they anticipate.

 

[Rock Crawler]

If they are up-charging the KIOTI units because of the white paint, they may do poorly. Kioti tractors in my opinion are about as good as any, I would put them head to head with green or orange tractors any day. But to sell a white Kioti at green tractor prices.... No thank you. I'll just cruise on down the road to the nearest town with a Kioti dealer.

 

[tman1020]

I think they are great tractors for sure. But why they are doing the same thing that failed the first time does not make sense to me. One of the best indicators of future performance is past performance especially if not much has changed. If they make it more than five years I will be happy and surprised. Same thing with RK tractors. I wish them both all the best but I just don’t see it working out.

 

[milkman636]

I saw their main tractor guy from Bobcat say last week that they were exceeding their sales targets so far for the year. But, they misjudged the mix of products that would sell. So they are short of models like the 2025, which is their best seller. And, they also have surplus of certain models that are not selling so well. With COVID, shipments aren’t as easy to ramp up either. They should have a better idea of volumes going forward. He also said several times they were going to be priced better than competitors. Maybe all their dealers haven’t bought into that way of thinking yet. Commercial dealers are probably used to higher margins.

 

[TractorGuy]

I haven't kept up with all the rebranded tractors but I don't see any of them being a wise choice. Especially if they don't have a long standing track record. If I wanted a Kioti I would buy a Kioti. If I want a TYM I will buy a TYM. Same with any other options. Seeing what happened with the Cabellas deal and the mixed service issues I read about the RK tractors is enough to scare me away from rebranded tractors.

It may be a little different with something like a New Holland made by another company since New Holland has been around. BUT a new venture that may or may not fail is a big red flag.

 

[5030]

Bobcats are Kioti's with a 5 gallon refinish. Common sense tells me to buy the original, not the rebadged one.

 

[milkman636]

I heard verbally from my local Bobcat service guy that they are also in process of developing their own CUT "in house" rather than just rebranding another product. That was surprising to hear. As an owner I'm happy they are back in the tractor business. How many companies have hopped back in after getting out of the tractor business before? Anybody know of one?

For me, the product and the dealer have performed well. I may even try out another one out with a cab in the future after they engineer the next round of emission compliance. I think the list of tractor manufacturer that don't utilize a DPF for compliance will be growing in the future. But, that thought may belong in another thread somewhere.

 

[Tomtint]

Im in a business where few make anything of their own, they just buy from 1 or 2 major manufacturers and then stick their own label on it. We call it reboxing in the trade. Its not uncommon. Think about the shoe industry, the mattress industry, the furniture industry etc. Its such a widespread business model that sometimes its hard ..or impossible to know what you are actually buying. That said, If I were in the market for a new tractor.. I would buy the orange one and not the repainted one. Service and dealer support would be a primary concern with a big ticket item.

 

[Revturbo9967]

After do some searching in my email, I found the original quote. the dealer was charging close to $1800 for assembly which they wouldn't move on.

 

[celicaxx]

If you can get a good deal on one of the models that aren't moving, i'd wouldn't worry about the re-badge. I got my CT335 hst with free FEL for less than $15k in 2009. I couldn't find a comparable deal elsewhere.
I'm eyeing the 4058 if the deal is sweet enough