Last month (June 19), AgriLand brought you ‘unofficial’ pictures of next-generation Claas Lexion combine harvesters.
Also Read: Unofficial: Is this the next-generation Claas Lexion?This week, our camera-man (videographer) Kevin Farrell got to see these new machines at close quarters in France – ahead of the official ’embargo’ on August 1.
In this short video (below), product specialist Adam Hayward briefly introduces the new harvesters, before quickly telling us that the full dossier of technical specifications will soon be released.
As part of the development programme, it’s believed that over 200 pre-production machines have been put through their paces in 10 different countries.
Expect to see new model designations (for ‘narrow-body’ and ‘wide-body’ harvesters) and, of course, a new flagship machine. As before, there are wheeled and tracked (Terra Trac) versions.
It’s worth noting that the original Lexion-badged machines were introduced as far back as 1995; Claas refers to the new cohort of harvesters as the “second-generation Lexion hybrid”.
As ever, stay tuned to AgriLand for ongoing updates (including interviews/videos).
Brand-by-brand sales
Interestingly, Claas is the market leader in the combine harvester sales league here in Ireland. 16 new Claas combines were registered here last year.
That accounted for half the overall market; 32 new combine harvesters (of all makes/brands) were registered. This table (below) shows what we believe to be the brand-by-brand breakdown for 2018:
John Deere and New Holland each notched up eight registrations. Interestingly, no other brands manifested themselves in last year’s figures.
This further table (below) shows how registrations (of new combine harvesters – of all makes/brands) varied between 2012 and last year. This information comes courtesy of the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA).
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.