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Hybrid tractor with 400 hp from the Far East: competition for John Deere & Fendt?

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An agricultural machinery manufacturer previously unknown in Europe has developed its first 400 hp tractor with hybrid drive. The brand is backed by a huge corporation from Asia. Will Fendt and John Deere have to prepare for competition?

Agricultural machinery groups such as John Deere and AGCO are known in Europe for their strong brands. So far, only a few farmers and contractors are familiar with the Chinese company Zoomlion. But that could change in the next few years.

The state-owned company is not only one of the world's largest machine manufacturers, but has now unveiled its first tractor with 400 hp. The special feature: The large tractor works with a hybrid drive. We explain the details.

Chinese XXL tractor Zoomlion with 400 hp

Some farmers are familiar with the Chinese brand Zoomlion from Agritechca 2015, when the agricultural machinery brand was represented as an exhibitor and showed a standard tractor with 160 hp and a Deutz engine (tractors from China for the European market).

In addition to cranes, excavators and concrete pumps, Zoomlion also builds tractors, balers, combine harvesters for rice and grain and other agricultural machinery in its agricultural division.

Hybrid tractor: few details known so far

According to the company, Zoomlion's first hybrid tractor rolled out of the production plant in Kaifeng in Henan province in eastern China at the beginning of the year. The Zoomlion DV4004 is a standard tractor with 400 hp. So far, however, there is little technical data on the tractor.

Engine and generator: Will the tractor be diesel-electric?

The hybrid tractor is partly directly driven, but also has several motors installed, probably electric motors for auxiliary drives. Even though Zoomlion does not provide any further information about the drive, the tractor presumably works with a diesel engine and a generator. No details are known about the exhaust emission standard achieved.

Large Chinese tractor with large cab

Photos show the tractor with tires from Trelleborg. It is said to achieve a tractive force of the equivalent of 14.5 tons and be able to travel at a speed of 12 km/h "under heavy load". According to Zoomlion, the tractor consumes 23.25 l/ha of diesel, which is 8 percent less than a comparable tractor in this power range. The four-post cab looks very large. There is no information on whether the tractor will also be marketed in Europe in the future.

Tractors and agricultural machinery from China: Who is Zoomlion?

Zoomlion is one of the largest manufacturers of construction machinery and generated a turnover of around 15 billion US dollars last year. Around a third of this total turnover was generated in the agricultural machinery sector. In 2020, the Group acquired the traditional brand Rabe Agrartechnik from Bad Essen (Almost forgotten agricultural machinery manufacturer surprises with new cultivator). Around 26,000 employees work for the Group worldwide.

https://www.agrarheute.com/technik/traktoren/hybrid-traktor-400-ps-fernost-konkurrenz-fuer-john-deere-fendt-634636

www.agrarheute.comHybrid-Traktor mit 400 PS aus Fernost: Konkurrenz für John Deere & Fendt?

20 Comments

Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@AktienAmateur069
Perhaps a good Asian investment.
$MHID I also find it interesting

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Soprano@Soprano

I can hardly imagine that this will catch on. You can ask @Hotte1909, but in my opinion, farmers like to rely on established brands and tradition. There have been cheaper alternatives from India and Japan for a long time, but they are still more rooted in their home markets.

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@Soprano
But I think the biggest growth for agricultural technology is in Africa, India and Asia

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Patrick Schäfer@Hotte1909

@Soprano They would just have to build up a dealer/workshop network, which won't be easy. In our area, it doesn't really matter anyway. There are no areas for such tractors here anyway. More so in the east. But as I said, you need a workshop network. A lot of things simply break down in agriculture and what good is it if I have a cheap tractor but nobody can repair it and I can't get my grass cut or anything else because of it?

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@Soprano
Look at how BYD has asserted itself.
The price-performance ratio is right here.
A farmer is an entrepreneur who thinks in the same way.
And if he can make his investments more cheaply without compromising on quality, he will do the math.
And of course the Chinese will then also build up a dealer and workshop network @Hotte1909

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ThemenmitKopf@topicswithhead

@Tenbagger2024 where has BYD prevailed? I don't see a single one anywhere. I have already seen a few NIO or xpeng or liAutos. Dealer networks don't just build themselves like that

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@topicswithhead
My dear, you don't have to assume that Europe is the center of the world.
Look at how BYD is doing worldwide.
Europe is important for the Chinese, but not the center of the world.
I see more potential for agricultural technology in Africa, India and Asia anyway
As an investor, you have to think globally.

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ThemenmitKopf@topicswithhead

@Tenbagger2024 Europe is a bigger market than the USA. If we're talking about electric cars, it's probably the biggest market after China. For tractors, of course, it's more in the direction of Brazil (Latin America) and co

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@topicswithhead
Exactly, I see huge potential for tractors in Africa and India. Farmers are only just starting to buy tractors here.
And then also more in the price range of
$MHID

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Soprano@Soprano

@Tenbagger2024 Well, if you know me a bit, you know that I don't see $DE as a tractor manufacturer. I'm actually a tech investor. In my opinion, the future can't just be about farmland, but about efficient data-driven cultivation using autonomous agricultural machinery.

Yes, it's true that in Africa people are slowly switching from hoes to tractors, but in the developed world we are building sensors and AI into combine harvesters to combine yield increases with sustainability.

If you can at least agree with the basic theory of climate change, even the ranchers in Brazil can't go on cutting down rainforest forever to make fertile land, but have to look at how to maintain the fertility of agricultural land in the long term.

Of course, this is still a bit of a pipe dream, but I don't believe that the agriculture of the future will consist of jetting across gigantic areas with 100 million tractors, but will be about software and technology and the big multinationals that can afford it will eat up the small farmers.

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Tenbagger2024@Tenbagger2024

@Soprano
I agree. Agriculture and everything associated with it is gaining enormously in importance. As are water and fertilizer. That's why I wouldn't want to write Bayer off.
Deere is a big player when it comes to AI and technology in agriculture. And Deere even has drones.
But as I can see from the report, the Chinese are also technologically up to date and AI is not a foreign concept. That's why I see them as competition to Deere and Fendt.
As for the developing countries that are just discovering the tractor, my favorite remains $MHID

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Soprano@Soprano

@Tenbagger2024 Yes, Mahindra is also good. They will also go their own way. If you want to compare it with cars, KIA and Hyundai are also extremely successful for the mass market.

But I don't see the Chinese coming outside of Africa. I think there will be a healthy skepticism about giving the Chinese so much data. There is also Tencent Cloud and Alibaba Cloud and no one uses them, so there will be similar reservations about buying a Chinese tractor with 25 cameras that stands on the property day and night.

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