Yanmar Corporate Call

[careyo63]

What was told to me of what happened yrs. ago of why Yanmar pulled out of the US. market was liability!! IMHO. I'm from Oh. back then. My mother knew the kid in the rollover. County bus driver. Father worked for Ford Credit etc.. And it gets better. What was told to me why they couldn't get that Tractor shut down sure seems to be true! "Highest Respect for Yanmar" Way up on my list. Large format graphic equipment is how I made my living so I knew it was true. SMDH..

 

[ptsg]

Yeah, their dealer network is one of the worst. They don't seem real committed to the US market

They don't seem committed to the European market either.

Very little dealers and very little tractors sold. I can get exact numbers for my country when I get home but between January and September, I doubt they sold more than 20 or 30 tractors.

I suppose they are more committed to the construction equipment side of things and the engines they sell for just about every market, Ag, construction, boats, etc.

 

[Torvy]

^that

For Yanmar, tractors are more of a side hustle. At their heart, they are a diesel engine company.

If they saw enough ROI in their projections, they would be jumping all over the market. Ultimately, they must make better ROI on other parts of their business.

 

[2manyrocks]

If they limit their sales to diesel engines, I suppose that lessens their liability for any tractor rollover. But why would they make and sell their own tractors for the US market if liability avoidance was their goal?

 

[careyo63]

Liability was taken care of. They put a customs band that model from entering the US.. Basically trashed them. I believe it eventually went. Which was a easy problem to fix and avoid the way they made it. Then came the roll over UTDA etc. etc, etc,,,, They had no choice and being a small world wide Co. it was best for them to remove themselves.

 

[Torvy]

The diesel engine thing is way bigger than tractor engines.

 

[2manyrocks]

So why would they even bother making tractors?

 

[Rustyiron]

Yanmar bought ASV skid steers, CTL's and is also marketing their own new SS-CTL's here. Their excavators have been "here" pretty steady for years.
I'd bet this is where you'd end up for warranty work. Other than a possible distance inconvenience, I wouldn't worry about this.

 

[tacticalturnip]

You'd think every old Cub Cadet CUT dealer would have just rolled right into Yanmar. It's weird knowing Yanmar doesn't have a very good dealer network, as I've got an excellent dealer 5 minutes away.

They're on the short list when I one day buy a cab tractor; though that is a long time from now.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Too many players, the pie slices are getting smaller, the economy is shrinking, dollar is getting tight, inflation is roaring, only the strong survive.

You decide who plays and stays and who don't.

Just remember, for a lot of companies this is just one of many industries they're involved in. They can afford to take a loss if they believe it will work out in the long term.

Yanmar sells engines, Daedong sells metal and castings, Kubota has it's hands in everything. I think where you'll see the disappearing act will be with brands that contract out; RK and Bad Boy are good examples. How long will they hold out?

Bobcat and LS Mtron will be curious cases to watch. Will Bobcat ever come out with their own line of compact tractors? Will LS continue to stay independent in the next decade? I'd wonder if CNH might gobble them up.

That's entirely speculation on my part, however.