New tractor sales continue on their upward path with 113 units sold in September, according to the FTMTA.

This represents a 47% increase over September last year and brings the running total for the year-to-date up to 12% over the first nine months of 2024.

County champions

Co. Cork continued to deliver the highest number of new tractor registrations at 278 units for the year-to-date, while Co. Tipperary was ranked in second place with 183 units, followed by Co. Wexford at 113 units.

However, when the figures are looked at on the basis of tractors sold relative to the size of the county, Wexford emerges the clear leader with one tractor sold per 1,600ha while Tipperary comes in at one tractor per 1,700ha and Cork trails with one tractor per 1,900ha.

Power plateau

When it comes to the power of the tractors sold, it is still the 161hp-200hp band that remains popular with 22% of all new tractor registrations in September falling into this category.

Yet for the year-to-date, tractors of this size accounted for 25% of all new tractor registrations in 2025.

The over 200hp band slipped slightly to 12.35% of all new sales for the year-to-date, continuing a trend that suggests that the extra sales are coming from lower down the power ranking.

The monthly average tractor horsepower figure for September 2025 was 135hp, and the largest tractor registered was rated at 280hp.

Second-hand sales were also up, with the FTMTA data showing that 241 imported used tractors were first-time registered in Ireland in September 2025, 35 more units than in September 2024.

The year-to-date used tractor registration figure at 2,196 units was 84 units more than was registered for the first nine months of 2024, showing that there is a healthy appetite for less costly machinery.

Telescopic loaders

The Irish market for new telescopic loaders is still in good health, with a year-on-year increase of 13% in September 2025, standing at 51 units.

Sources within the trade suggest that it is articulated rather than side boom machines that are taking the lion's share of the deals.

This represents a year-to-date 18% increase to 651 units, compared with the same nine months of 2024 when 549 units were registered.

There were 60 imported used telescopic loaders registered in September 2025, up from 42 in September 2024.

Wheeled loaders

The Irish wheeled loader market recorded an increased number of new registrations in September 2025 at 11 units compared with September 2024 at 10 units, a market increase of 9%.

There were 10 imported used wheeled loaders registered in September 2025, compared with eight a year ago.

The Irish backhoe loader market also increased year-on-year in September 2025 with eight new machines registered. There were four used backhoe loaders registered in September 2025 in Ireland.

UTV Registrations

Utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) are considered tractors by the government and are subject to the same road tax and legislation, yet sales have shown a marked decline this year.

There were just 16 new UTVs registered in Ireland in September 2025, compared with 27 in September 2024, while for the year-to-date there were 202 new UTVs compared with 250 for the year-to-date 2024

UTVs however, are used to a greater extent by utilities, local authorities, and amenity organisations, which will influence the figures more than sales to farmers.