Curious to know how sales are split between the big brands in the combine harvester business here in Ireland?

Data from the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) indicates that, thus far, seven new combine harvesters have been registered this year (up to the end of April). However, in any given year, most new machines are registered during June or July, so it’s hard to know what the final tally will be.

Image source: Shane Casey

32 new combine harvesters were registered during the entirety of last year. This table (below) shows what we believe to be the brand-by-brand breakdown for 2018:

As was the case in the self-propelled forage harvester market, Claas was the market leader; 16 of its (new) combines were registered last year.

Also Read: Self-propelled foragers: Which are the top-selling brands in Ireland?

John Deere and New Holland each notched up eight registrations. Interestingly, no other brands manifested themselves in the figures. This must have been something of a disappointment for the likes of Case IH, Deutz-Fahr (one of its combines is pictured below), Fendt and Massey Ferguson.

Interestingly, Claas is also dominant in the UK market. Figures from the UK-based AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association) for the 2017 season (data covering registrations from September 2016 until August 2017) showed that it commanded a 48% share.

Also Read: Which brands come top of the UK combine harvester market?

This further table (below) shows how Irish registrations (of new combine harvesters – of all makes/brands) varied between 2012 and this year.

It’s evident that there was an especially high figure in 2013. Alas, the market for new machines dipped sharply in 2017, showing something of a modest come-back last year.

In any case, it will be fascinating to see how sales evolve in the run-up to this year’s harvest.