Kubota 47% -- John Deere 19%

[Rustyiron]

Also in the OP's link Mahindra North America Introduces Tractor Loaner Program | 217-4-28 | Rural Lifestyle Dealer
That would be very nice to have a "loaner" program. This is pretty normal with much more expensive "heavy equipment".

 

[Garandman]

I wonder if this is a Global market share or just the USA market share. The problem with market share it varies depending on how you pull it. For example if you pulled market share for horsepower 50-125hp I bet that would show a totally different percentage. I doubt Kubota would be out in the front with those horsepower numbers. With that being said, do not get so caught up in market share to determine a company success.

That was the point of the article: Kubota is successfully moving into higher hp ranges but needs larger dealers, so there is a lot of consolidation.

Kubota has 47% up to 80 hp: how many people you know with a Kubota tractor more than even 50hp?

The M series extends to 168hp but over 95hp are new.

 

[Kentuckyfarmer]

That's better then I expected. I like that Kubota makes all their tractors and isn't selling other brands painted orange and calling them Kubota's. I also like that their diesel engines are so good that other manufacturers use them, including Onan generators. Sadly, every time I go to the dealer to buy something, I end up going with some other brand that is more affordable. They are very proud of their success.

I agree, love the Kubota and had two so far. The b7200 was a little tank and it's still in the family and I like the bx23 I have now and use it almost everyday. But when I was in the market for a larger one I just couldn't pay that extra cost. I also wanted something that software wasn't controlling everything and I could work on. JD and Kubota just would not come close to the price and turned up their noses at me when I tried to talk what I considered a reasonable price. I don't think you can go wrong buying a piece of equipment with a Kubota motor in it. From skid steer to lawn mowers.

 

[dodge man]

This planting season was the first time I saw a Kubota doing planting. It was a larger M, maybe a 100 plus horsepower.

One problem I see with Kubota trying to get into the large tractor market is the dealer network. My local Kubota also sells Massey Ferguson in the larger ag tractors. I doubt they would be allowed to sell the larger Kubota's also.

 

[FatTire]

I sell Mahindra and Branson, as well as Deutz-Fahr for the bigger stuff. We go after the market hard and do great in our area, but I give a lot of respect to both JD and Kubota. Mahindra has some old school models, but not as many as they used to. There isn't a ton of profit in a low feature tractor. So Mahindra has added quite a few premium models in the last 10 years. I particularly like and sell a good quantity of their Japanese built models. The quality is quite good. And they source a good deal of the USA sold tractors from Korea, also good. The larger Indian built machines that are simple and robust are a good value.

I think the 80-150 HP market is a different ballgame. Guys that buy tractors of that size often use them hard and often. They are making a living off of them. If you are putting a tractor into this market seriously, it better be good. Kubota is pushing into that market, and it will be interesting to see how they do against JD.

Dave, to what extent did Kubota create most of the market for small HP tractors in North America? It seems like these days there are a ton of landowners in the 5 to 100 acre range who have a 20-60Hp tractor. One place that I drive past occasionally has a fairly big Kubota cab tractor (60 to 80 HP?) that seems to get used for about 2 weeks around Christmas/New Years for snow removal, and then for mowing 2-3 times in the summer. (Apparently a vacation home.) I think 25 or 35 years ago that guy would have just paid someone to do that stuff, or maybe plow with an old pick-up, but now these guys just buy a tractor. In another example I just bought a 5 year old Kubota with barely over 100 hours on it. That guy was just using it to snowblow is driveway a few times a year, and he had a box blade. I heard he was retired and thought the tractor was "fun" -- at least the first couple of years. Not many people made those kinds of purchases back in the 1980's.

So I'm wondering if Deere and Mahindra are selling more tractors now than they would have been if Kubota hadn't pushed so many reliable small tractors back 20 to 30 years ago??? Or was the expansion starting and Kubota just jumped in on it? (Or some of both?)

 

[DavesTractor]

Dave, to what extent did Kubota create most of the market for small HP tractors in North America? It seems like these days there are a ton of landowners in the 5 to 100 acre range who have a 20-60Hp tractor. One place that I drive past occasionally has a fairly big Kubota cab tractor (60 to 80 HP?) that seems to get used for about 2 weeks around Christmas/New Years for snow removal, and then for mowing 2-3 times in the summer. (Apparently a vacation home.) I think 25 or 35 years ago that guy would have just paid someone to do that stuff, or maybe plow with an old pick-up, but now these guys just buy a tractor. In another example I just bought a 5 year old Kubota with barely over 100 hours on it. That guy was just using it to snowblow is driveway a few times a year, and he had a box blade. I heard he was retired and thought the tractor was "fun" -- at least the first couple of years. Not many people made those kinds of purchases back in the 1980's.

So I'm wondering if Deere and Mahindra are selling more tractors now than they would have been if Kubota hadn't pushed so many reliable small tractors back 20 to 30 years ago??? Or was the expansion starting and Kubota just jumped in on it? (Or some of both?)

You bring up some good thoughts. I had not really considered that Kubota's success may have been a huge help to other brands that then jumped into the small tractor market. My thought was that they saw the potential, and just beat everyone else to the punch. Probably some of both.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I hope they get American focus groups for R&D for cab ergonomics. When I was shopping at the end of last year for a 100+ hp cabbed tractor I looked at the kubota. It was the M5 series I think. I hated the layout. The shuttle shift was not like any I had ever used and was not easy to operate. On one of the ones I drove, I had to lean way forward to operate the loader control. I didn't like them at all. I know it's personal preference and lots will like them but as a whole there's a reason they don't have much market share. They have a loyal following in the smaller stuff but need to focus on thinking someone will be in the machine all day and to make things easier. Also, they are typically the lightest in the class. Where are they saving weight and why are they continuing to do it?

Brett

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Where are they saving weight and why are they continuing to do it?
Brett

There is difference in their philosophy when it comes to weight. Generally raw tonage is not looked at as a good thing. Its better to start with a lighter tractor and ballast it for the application than to be stuck with a heavy machine you can't setup right for the job.

I'd agree their cabs in the higher series lack the egronomic thought and high-end feel that a CNH or Deere tractor has. You can tell CNH uses automotive designers from Fiat in their stuff. The cabs are getting near car like. Kubota is not there, but they are generally quite a bit less expensive as well. M7 is better and shows they are capable of doing it.

 

[rustyshakelford]

There is difference in their philosophy when it comes to weight. Generally raw tonage is not looked at as a good thing. Its better to start with a lighter tractor and ballast it for the application than to be stuck with a heavy machine you can't setup right for the job.

I'd agree their cabs in the higher series lack the egronomic thought and high-end feel that a CNH or Deere tractor has. You can tell CNH uses automotive designers from Fiat in their stuff. The cabs are getting near car like. Kubota is not there, but they are generally quite a bit less expensive as well. M7 is better and shows they are capable of doing it.

That makes sense on the ballast I guess. I just look at it from the lighter components standpoint. I figure they are using less metal to save weight thus creating a weaker tractor. I'm sure that's not the case but that's the first thing that comes to mind.

Brett

 

[Garrett Wiggins]

There is difference in their philosophy when it comes to weight. Generally raw tonage is not looked at as a good thing. Its better to start with a lighter tractor and ballast it for the application than to be stuck with a heavy machine you can't setup right for the job.

I'd agree their cabs in the higher series lack the egronomic thought and high-end feel that a CNH or Deere tractor has. You can tell CNH uses automotive designers from Fiat in their stuff. The cabs are getting near car like. Kubota is not there, but they are generally quite a bit less expensive as well. M7 is better and shows they are capable of doing it.

A couple things to point out, the weight of a tractor is what is going to make a tractor work. Extra ballast is very expensive, so you would have to have to add the addition cost of the "extra ballast" to the cost of the Kubota; which is still available for the Deere if you need it. If you decided to just cheap out and use water, you lose horsepower. A few years ago Kubota got into a lot of trouble with over rating horsepower and I believe they still wont take their tractors to Nebraska to have them properly tested by an independent company like most other color of tractors. Just something to think about.