Buying a new tractor?

[Rutman]

Remember when Hyundai and Kia first came around.
They were so bad dealers had them buy one get one free.
Now look at them. There as good as any of the others.

 

[Rustyiron]

I didn't watch the video but I believe that the issue for these companies entering this market is establishing a dealership network that's solid, stable and invested in the brand. This of course includes a solid parts and service at the dealership level, not as much as their product offerings.
Building this "network" is monumental in comparison to building the actual tractor itself especially these days.
Look at Yanmar, 1st rate equipment, probably equal to Kubota in the use of their engines by other manufacturers but where are the dealers?
They did buy ASV, I'm thinking as mainly a distributor/dealers for their small construction equipment. ASV seems to be the Chrysler of the small construction equipment companies as they've had as many different owners in the past dozen or so years. That's not a reflection of their product IMHO.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Yanmar has great equipment, but I passed because there were 6x as many TYM dealers near me. TYM got a little boost when they bought Kukje, and took over their Georgia facility and dealers

 

[aesanders]

John Deere still has the Lions share of the big ag tractors. There are some good competition though. AGCO brands are getting more popular as well as CNH. I see people who would only shop Deere in years past start looking at competitors though. I really think Deere ruffled some feathers lately.

I see the Korean brands in the compacts really taking ahold right now. Heck, I traded in a Deere for one. The price for a similar machine is just far too wide for the Deere and Kubotas in my mind. This is coming from a property owner. If for business I would want the bigger dealer network.

 

[CliffordK]

A dealer network is an issue. But, perhaps the dealer model will evolve in the future.

If one looks at the current upheaval in the auto industry, we're seeing new manufacturers popping up faster than dealer support.

Rivian has two dealers in Oregon, both in Portland. I'd be lucky that they're about 100 miles away from me, but much of the state is even further from a dealership. Burns customers may find themselves driving to Boise.

Perhaps some tractor brands could do something similar, especially if they can get some unaffiliated support.

 

[CliffordK]

Dad had an IH dealership in the 70s-early 80s. Oof. I lived through how bad it can get.

Since he posted the video, we have started to see this. The Korean brands have continued to chip away at Kubota and JD. As mentioned earlier, this is how Kubota got viable in the 70s...bargain brand during hard economic times.

The implication that the smaller brands only could fight over the scraps left by the big boys has been proven wrong time and time again. It is the big boys who are most vulnerable in terms of share.

Thinking of some of the history of Kubota.

My family bought our first tractor around 1980. An older two wheel drive International with a 2 point hitch (implements were cheap because they were already obsolete).

And we promptly got the International stuck in the middle of the hay pasture.

Our neighbor had an early Kubota though.

A funky little brand. Hitting the 15 HP to 30 HP market. And most of what I was seeing were 4x4 tractors.

On the other hand, gone were the days of the Farmall Cub. I think most of the American tractors were slightly larger than the little Kubotas.

So, what they had was a niche that wasn't fully covered by the American tractor industry that they pushed themselves into.

Now everyone has 4x4 tractors!!!

Yet, many of the compact and subcompact tractors are made somewhere overseas.

Now, moving ahead 40 or 50 years. Are there niches that would be open to competition?

We are seeing the electric vehicle industry blowing up. And, that is coming to the tractor and equipment market too.

There has been some talk about EGO and Greenworks battery powered zero turn mowers. In wouldn't be surprised if they come out with small general purpose tractors too (tractor, tiller, mower, loader, etc).

Soletrac has been struggling in the electric tractor market. Will they be back?

For a couple of reasons I've been interested in the small crawler market lately. The US manufactures are almost entirely ignoring the small crawlers, but are pushing tracked skid steer machines. Yet, there are a few international crawlers making their way in.

And, China has been flooding the market with mini excavators, as well as implements of all sorts.

Oddly, rather than coming in with one name, they're allowing their equipment to be rebranded, even by small importers. Nonetheless, they're here to stay.

 

[Yander]

Watch this from 22:15 - 31:40. It is the best overview of the Yanmar YT tractors you will find on the internet. It is done by a Yanmar service tech.