THE MARKET for tractors in Scotland slipped by 137 in 2016, according to Department of Transport figures which also reveal market share for the various brands. 

Usually a sensitive set of figures kept secret under EU rules, these numbers come from government department and include compact models. The stats reveal that new farm tractor registrations fell from 1581 in 2015 to 1444 last year.

John Deere had 73 fewer registrations and a 2.7% drop in Scottish market share to 22.2%. This was a particularly disappointing result given that the brand celebrated its 50th anniversary in the UK and Ireland in 2016. 

The Scottish Farmer:

 

New Holland saw its new tractor registrations fall by 53 units and an associated 1.6% decrease in market share, but its sister brand, Case IH, dropped only four registrations and increased market share by 0.5% by outperforming the market.

This gave the combined CNH brands total Scottish sales of 422 units and a 29.2% share of the market, in sharp contrast to the UK picture, where Deere has been sales leader for years, although its 26.9% market share figure for 2016 is only 0.4% ahead of CNH’s UK performance.

In fact, Deere fell into third place overall behind AGCO, which achieved 346 registrations for its four brands in 2016, and an overall market share of 24%. Massey Ferguson’s figures dropped by 29 units and 0.7% market share last year, but both Valtra and Fendt achieved the impressive double-whammy of increasing sales and market share in a falling market. 

Finland-based Valtra added 31 units, while there were four more German-built Fendts registered.

Kubota continued its rise in popularity, adding six registrations to achieve a total of 111 units and 7.7% market share. An extra 12 units for Claas, meanwhile, took it to 103 registrations and 7.1% market share. 

Both these brands performed better in Scotland than in the UK as a whole, where they achieved 7.1% and 5.6% market shares, respectively.