New Holland to switch to Korean manufacturer?

[AKfish]

While Deere and Kubota have diversified their products with the RTVs and full line of lawn care models, NH has remained with only their core line of equipment. In my opinion, it's much easier to sell a compact tractor to a person who has been buying lawn tractors and UTVs from you than one who is new to your dealership and brand. I just think NH has to work harder to sell tractors and it is showing.

Couldn't agree more... Deere's effort to sell their entry level lawn tractors and other "branded" lawn care implements is linked to the idea that once a customer "buys in" to their product line, they are much more inclined to stay "green" when the time comes to upgrade.

Just get 'em in the door and even if we can't keep 'em all.. it's more business, nonetheless!

(I hope the CVT tranny proves to be a great brand feature for NH. If time-tested to be reliable and durable it could become a distinctive, market-leading feature for NH in the CUT-Utility market.)

AKfish

 

[ChuckinNH]

In this area, New Holland tractors have been the most expensive for some time now. Though I did look at them, and liked some of the features, I just didn't think they were any better, or ergonomically as good as the Deere's, or Kubota's. With this switch, I won't even bother to look again. Perhaps 25 years ago, this was blue country, and the New Hollands /Fords were pretty popular in everything from garden tractors to Ag tractors. I've seen the color fade out though I still have friends with Boomers. I don't think this change is going to do anything except make market share for others.

 

[Pops15]

I don't see how rebranding an existing product is going to help NH. Might be a different story if LS developed a new, dedicated product line for NH.
NH has made big gains in the ag tractor market in my area in recent years. Mostly at the expense of Deere. NH has a pretty strong market share of the bigger CUT sales in my area. Kubota and Deere seem to be dominating the smaller CUT market around here.

Is Case switching to LS as well? Or is CNH covering their butts by continuing to offer Shibuara tractors under the Case brand? That could be an interesting scenario.

I've seen some comments that blue is more expensive. That doesn't seem to be the case around here. Green is the highest, blue and orange are about the same as each other just a tad lower than Green.

Parts availability for existing models may be an issue but I suspect there will be dealers that will continue to stock parts since they will want to retain their current customers. One local dealership stocks parts all the way back to the NAA-Series Fords.
I wonder how parts availability will effect the price of existing tractors? On one hand they could hold their value because many will view them as being better than the new offerings. On the other hand value could drop because of parts availability concerns.

ChuckinNH, Ergonomics are a matter of personal preference. I'm in the market for a CUT. Several TBN members suggested I look at orange. I did, and I liked them allot.......everything except the ergonomics! They were uncomfortable enough for me that I ruled them out in short order.
I agree that someone, likely Deere and Kubota will pick up some market share. NH may retain and may eventually even gain market share, but probably in a different sector of the market.

Jinman, My local NH dealer had a few Branson tractors on his lot for awhile. I can't remember him ever having anything but blue on his lot before. The Bransons sat there a loooong time.
I've got a friend that's an engineer for a heavy EQ manufacturer. He likes the NH CVT and expects more manufacturers to develop their own versions.
I agree completely that NH needs to develop a wider range of products. It also doesn't make much sense, at least to me, that CNH offers the same products in red an blue. It would make more sense for one color to be the Chevy and the other be the Cadillac.

 

[jinman]

Parts availability for existing models may be an issue but I suspect there will be dealers that will continue to stock parts since they will want to retain their current customers. One local dealership stocks parts all the way back to the NAA-Series Fords.

I think many parts come from regional warehouses rather than being stocked at the local dealer. Filters and fluids are common things stocked by dealers, and mine seems to carry gaskets and rebuild kits for common items, but when I need an electrical part or something a little out of the ordinary, I have to wait for that part to be be shipped to the dealer.

As a dealer, I think the retraining of people in my shop and new special tools to be bought would be a major expense of the new equipment. Plus, there is so much gained by experience that my people just won't have. This kind of change can bring about mistakes and problems that will effect a dealer's overall reputation for product and maintainability that might be avoided with known products. I think Korean products are fine as has been shown by Kiotis. I just think the learning curve and differences will be an extra challenge for dealerships in general.

 

[CurlyDave]

I think many parts come from regional warehouses rather than being stocked at the local dealer.

I hate to disagree, but this is just like saying that meat comes from the supermarket in little plastic packages. True in the short term, but the real source is a farmer or rancher who raises animals.

In the case of parts, they come from a factory, either the manufacturer or a subcontractor. If that factory quits making them, sooner or later the supply runs dry. When switching to a new supplier for re-badged machines, the entire supply chain for existing machines can be suddenly cut off.

Some manufacturers will order many years of parts for their existing machines in that instance, others will order only a few. Carrying a large inventory is expensive.

If a particular tractor model is very popular, aftermarket suppliers may step up and make parts. In other instances, tractors can be orphaned and parts will eventually become unavailable.

 

[jinman]

I think many parts come from regional warehouses rather than being stocked at the local dealer.

I hate to disagree, but this is just like saying that meat comes from the supermarket in little plastic packages. True in the short term, but the real source is a farmer or rancher who raises animals.

Dave, I think you stretched my context a bit. Parts are made in a factory, but what do they do with them once they are made? They don't leave them laying on the factory floor. No, babies don't come from hospitals and parts don't come from warehouses, but dealers receive parts shipped from local warehouses when they don't have the part in stock. Many times I've gone to my NH dealer in Decatur, TX for a part and have been told I can have it the next day because it has to come from Dallas, TX. This has nothing to do with making the part, only warehousing it. My thesis is that dealers don't stock most of the uncommon replacement parts for our tractors, but rather have regional warehouses that stock and supply them on a 24 hour available basis. For that reason, I don't see a dealer investing huge amounts in parts because he adds a line of tractors. He will spend money to stock the regular maintenance items and hope to get larger parts from a regional warehouse. If the regional warehouse is NIS, then things get sticky. If they have to build a run of parts in the factory, the delay gets unbearable.

 

[CurlyDave]

Jim, I know you knew where parts really come from.

But my point was & is that if no one is filling up the supply line, it will eventually run dry. And that is precisely where my biggest worry would be.

 

[Ford850]

It's supply and demand. I don't see that changing much whether they are made in Japan or Korea. When models change they have very few interchangeable parts from the previous model of the same manufacturer, but you can still get parts for your 10 year old tractor.
I'm anxiously waiting to hear all of the details too. Will all models made in Japan get cut? Will they slowly phase them out as they change models over the next several years? Will they retain a relationship with Shibaura to keep some models? Will the new LS tractors be a custom line for NH? NH has been adding some very basic lines over the past couple years to compliment their higher end models. Are any of those from LS? Lots of questions, but unfortunatley we can only speculate for now.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I agree, there are lots more questions than answers right now with this development. As far as parts go, I've never needed anything other than filters and fluids. Hopefully NH will gets the parts chain right and continue to support the Shibaura line as well as the LS line.

 

[RickB]

I agree, there are lots more questions than answers right now with this development. Hopefully NH will gets the parts chain right and continue to support the Shibaura line as well as the LS line.

That depends as much or more on how Shibaura (ISM) views this whole mess. When New Holland stopped buying loaders from SMC, parts obsolescece and pricing increased dramatically seemingly overnight.