Fendt itself does not pretend that it will match the requirements of all farmers, especially when it comes to price, but the company is keen to show that ownership need not be confined to the 1%.
In 2023 Fendt accounted for 3.5% of the Irish tractor market by unit sales, which is a rather crude measure of a brand’s performance, but it is all we have at present.
The greater part of these sales will be in the higher power brackets, the 700 series being particularly successful, yet Fendt does produce popular smaller tractors as well, as any trip through the continental countryside will confirm.
Big sellers
In 2022 around 4,200 tractors in the 200 series were produced. These offer between 79hp and 124hp from their three-cylinder AGCO power engines.
This figure includes 2,600, narrow frame machines for orchard and vineyard use while the rest were broad frame tractors.
There is, apparently, a limited market for the narrow frame models in Ireland amongst the fruit and strawberry growers of the east, and several standard frame 200 series have also been purchased over the last couple of years.
Fendt, however is keen to see the number of its smaller tractors sold into Ireland increase, thus helping to reduce the aura of exclusivity that surrounds the marque as well as build a strong following which will stay loyal over the years.
Fendt 211 Vario
In pursuing this aim, the company has brought a Fendt 211 demonstration machine to Ireland and invited Agriland along to take a look at it in Co. Dublin where the local dealership is Farmworks Machinery of Ballyboughal.
Fendt is often seen as being over complicated and full of techno wizardry specifically designed to baffle the unknowing, which is a pity as that is quite the wrong impression to come away with, according to Sean Gorman, sales manager for Fendt Ireland and Brian Duane, sales manager for Farmworks Machinery.
What is not usually appreciated, according to Sean, is that the tractors can be driven and operated without the need to engage with all the digital technology that is available should the operator wish to avail of it.
This is no idle boast, once given a few basic instructions on its controls I was able to start, stop and happily operate the tractor loader without further ado. There is no mystery in getting it to perform an everyday task such as stacking bales.
Brian describes the controls as being intuitive and from my brief encounter with them, he is not wrong; it really didn’t take long to work out where all the appropriate switches are and what they do.
The complications of screens, ISOBUS, headland management, infinitely variable settings and all the ‘razzmatazz’ of smart farming can wait until needed, the tractor will work quite well without calling upon any of that.
Fendt and the CVT
Yet, there is one great difference between the Fendt and a standard run-of-the-mill tractor, and that is its Vario constantly variable transmission (CVT) which was introduced in 1995, giving nearly 30 years to develop it since.
Has Fendt got it right? It has certainly got something different and very workable which brings a new way of thinking to tractor driving and that is as applicable to smaller tractors as it is to the large open field units.
At the most fundamental level, what Fendt has done is disassociate engine speed from ground speed; they are now quite independent of one another and herein lies the secret of getting the most from a Vario-equipped tractor.
Revised role for engine
What has happened is that propelling the tractor has now become just one task of the engine, rather than its primary role, opening up all sorts opportunities for efficiency and smoothness of operation, for the engine speed can now be managed to suit the demand for power, whatever the operation or ground speed.
The foot pedal is now just a speed pedal, the harder you press it the faster you go, that’s all it does.
The Tractor Management System (TMS) decides how fast the engine needs to turn to deliver sufficient power to achieve the desired speed, whether that be on the road or in the field.
Yet, this can cause problems when doing precise work for the full speed range of 0 to 45km/h is still available, leading to some jerkiness when manoeuvring at slow speeds.
Fendt has overcome this by one of the most important, but rarely mentioned, controls on the tractor, and that is the sensitivity dial; it is this which makes sense of the tractor and confirms its suitability for yard duties.
When dialled right down, the foot pedal operates between 0 and 5km/h, enabling much finer control at slow speeds, and when set at roughly half way, the speed range is ideal for dashing about yards, limiting the top speed but allowing greater control for loader operation etc.
Power boost with a difference
The engineers have also taken a novel approach to the engine power boost function.
Rather than increasing the power output when the PTO is engaged while the engine is under load providing tractive effort, on the Fendt 211 it only increases power to cover the needs of secondary items such as air conditioning, cooling fan and compressor.
Commonality of controls and TMS across Fendt’s whole range is another feature which the company is starting to make a noise about.
The armrest is now the same in all models. Yes, it can be tweaked with a more sophisticated front end loader joystick for instance, but once familiar with the basics, an operator should be able to handle any Fendt tractor from across the entire range.
The internal operating system is also common to all models, this not only helps the drivers but also the technicians working on the tractors who will need just the one diagnostic programme to deal with all models.
Attention grabber
So, has Fendt produced a tractor with a broader appeal to farmers in Ireland? According to Brian it has, for when taken to shows it has generated far more interest than any other model that might be on the stand.
Yet, the sticking point remains, how many euro will it take to translate that interest to ownership?
On this basic spec 211 which comes with front axle and cab suspension as standard, it will be around €115,000 to €120,000, which is by no means the cheapest on the market.
Sean, however, is not phased by this figure, believing that the comfort, efficiency and residual value justifies the price tag, it is not just another tractor, but a refreshing rethink of the tractor concept.
