John Deere has a solid lead in Dutch tractor sales this year, so far. This is announced by the federation of the federation Fedecom. Fendt is also doing well. New Holland still has some catching up to do in the last quarter.
Since this year, Fedecom - the trade organization of Dutch mechanization companies - has been publishing tractor sales figures quarterly and no longer monthly. Until October 1, 1.728 new agricultural and narrow gate tractors had been registered in the Netherlands. In addition, 638 compact tractors were registered. The figure is slightly higher than on the same date last year, when 1.710 agricultural and narrow-gauge tractors were registered.
Green-yellow on head
John Deere led the Dutch market in 2020 with 417 registered tractors in the first three quarters. Fendt is in second place with 330 units and New Holland is in third place with 291 units. The green and yellow tractors took over the leading position from New Holland for the first time in 2019. Fendt was still a lot lower then, but is doing very well this year. The sales figures per brand are published with a twelve-month delay.
Tractor sales in 2020 were meager at 2.581 units. The lead is still minimal this autumn. The 22 tractor brands still need to sell 850 tractors to match last year. Traditionally, the last quarter is also the period with the most tractors, because investments are often made before the new year. With the current one liver problems that many manufacturers have, the question is whether this will not slow down the number of registrations. Companies that have a lot of inventory have a clear advantage. Perhaps this explains the lead of John Deere and Fendt.
Head Start
John Deere used the third quarter to expand its position. The difference with number 2 (Fendt) is now 87 units, excluding the 81 compact tractors it sold. In the second quarter the lead was still 25 and in the first quarter Fendt was even ahead. New Holland – which is traditionally very strong in our country – still has a lot of catching up to do in the next two months.
The top 6 is completed by Case IH (166 units), Massey Ferguson (159 units) and Deutz-Fahr (122 units). According to the European trade association CEMA Tractor sales in the eight largest EU countries plus the UK did not suffer from the corona crisis in 2020. More than 189.000 tractors were sold. This year, sales peaked in the second quarter.
Actual figures
In the Netherlands there is always some uncertainty surrounding the published figures, because have these tractors been sold or are they still on the doorstep of dealers? With the arrival of the tractor license plate, it should in principle be clear exactly how many tractors, self-propelled machines and towed machines have been sold (registered). This also brings into focus for the first time gray imports that are currently not included. This can cause brands' market shares to shift.