Which brand would you sell?

[Bud Soda]

Have you thought about Montana? There are only a few dealers in NC. It would be good if I had another dealer that was less than 30 miles from me. I have a small Montana that is almost a year old now and plan on buying a bigger tractor to replace my ford 5000 in about two years. I like my Montana but because of lack of dealers in my area my next tractor will probably be a Kioti,or Mahindra.

Bud

 

[montanaman]

I'd sell Mahindras and offer a free Slurpee with each purchase.

Easy to say but what size and flavor??

You'll get that one tough customer that insists on free re-fills too!!

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I'm thinking about a career change, maybe becoming a FarmTrac dealer.

 

[deereguy]

Just looked up Golf Courses in North Carolina- found over 275 registered on that site, how about that market?

Landscapers and construction might be another direction besides hobby farmers.....just a thought.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Neil, countng worldwide sales of tractors. Individual tractor brands, not groups. Mahindra did 113,000 tractors in 2007

That is on their website, however there is no way 113,000 units is #3 in the global market. I can't imagine that CNH, AGCO, Deere, etc don't all build way more compact & utility tractors than that. I can't imagine Kubota does not build more than that either, heck they publicy say they do 140,000 units in the USA across their product line.. and I'd never say they are in the running for the biggest. I don't know, but when a company thats virtually unknown in the domestic market claims they are #3 in the business, they need to be giving a little more substance to their claims else they'll look like fools.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I don't know, but when a company thats virtually unknown in the domestic market claims they are #3 in the business, they need to be giving a little more substance to their claims else they'll look like fools.

They sure aren't unknown in the Indian domestic market. When I was in India I started to count all of the Mahindra tractors I saw. I quit after about 14 or so because I lost track of the count. Seriously, there are 1.2 billion people there and a heck of a lot of them work in agriculture, not just call centers. Maybe they are a distant 3rd, but some day, who knows? If you decided to become a Mahindra dealer, you could expand to sell their automotive products when they begin importing them too.

 

[agequipt]

If you are sure you want to join the rest of us nuts in the equipment buisness.
1. call Dealers out of State and talk to them. find out what they like and don't like about the comapny.
2. Start Small Don't burden your self with a lot of over head.
3. Find a good mechanic. He or she will help you survive when problems arise. AS my father told me " if is has tires or wears dress it will eventualy give you trouble."

if you want to talk in more detail send me an pm and i will give you my #
I don't know it all but after 14 years in cold start dealership I have made about every mistake I was told about.

 

[DavesTractor]

That is on their website, however there is no way 113,000 units is #3 in the global market. I can't imagine that CNH, AGCO, Deere, etc don't all build way more compact & utility tractors than that. I can't imagine Kubota does not build more than that either, heck they publicy say they do 140,000 units in the USA across their product line.. and I'd never say they are in the running for the biggest. I don't know, but when a company thats virtually unknown in the domestic market claims they are #3 in the business, they need to be giving a little more substance to their claims else they'll look like fools.

Neil, I clearly stated more than once that it does depend on how you count. We aren't counting lawn mowers and RTV's and units of backhoes and units of loaders or whatever other method of counting that might work for you. Perhaps the 140,000 number for Kubota is whole goods orders, but what does that mean? Give me Kubotas number for tractors worldwide, include the BX's if you want and go up to the biggest one, even though Mahindra's product range isn't as broad, and let's see.

Please remember that I said per brand, not group of brands. For example, Buick vs Mercury, not GM vs Ford Motor Company. As groups, CNH and Agco are huge, no doubt. You see, I am not adding all the Jeeps, SUV's, trucks, generators, etc. to Mahindra's tractor numbers, just tractors. Do the same on Kubota and post a response.

Now for the OP and the rest of you, please forgive the digression. You may know that I try not to pull a thread away from it's original intent, but when basically called a fool or a trivial annoyance, one must respond. I didn't start this argument, but I needed to respond.

Neil, you are a good dealer, a well respected member of this board and have a lot to offer. I appreciate 98% of your posts, so no hard feelings. And if Mahindra is such a minor nothing, you have nothing to worry about. Just ignore them.

Back to the OP and ignoring Mahindra for a moment, I still think the advice for Cub Cadet - Yanmar is solid advice. Good tractor with a nice tie to lawn and garden. Of course Kubota is extremely strong in the small tractor market in the USA. I don't know if Kubota is available in your area, but it should be a consideration. Excellent brand recognition and a reputation for quality.

 

[chh]

Well Dave and Neil, your posts got me curious so I googled around on tractor numbers for awhile this morning. Finding an answer to who sold how many of what wasn't available that I could find, but I did notice one interesting fact from the boasts, claims, and assorted BS. Mahindra boasts having past 1 million units worldwide(the website's claim is that they are in the top 5 worldwide) and Kubota just sold its 1 millionth tractor(an MX 125 in the US).

If anyone can find real numbers on sales please post them.

Dave congrats on being recognized on Mahindra's US homepage. It sounds like you are doing a great job with them.

My apologies to the OP since this really doesn't have anything to do with anything.

 

[chh]

Just for fun here is a UK pie chart for sales last year. Average tractor size is 125hp. Tractors only is what is supposed to be included.



OP again my apologies and if anyone finds the above style chart for the US or worldwide post it somewhere please.