The European organisation representing the agricultural machinery industry – CLIMMAR – recently revealed the results of its 2016 survey of machinery dealers and distributors, in which respondents were asked to rate tractor manufacturers and brands.
Dealers from nine countries took part in the survey – namely the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Asked about ‘brand image and impact‘, the respondents rated Fendt in poll position, followed by John Deere, Massey Ferguson, Kubota and Claas – in that order. This result was largely similar to that for 2015, in which Fendt and John Deere also took the plaudits.
Looking at ‘marketing‘ activities and support from manufacturers (again specifically for tractors), dealers rated Fendt as the top player in 2016, followed closely by Kubota and then Valtra and Claas. The only significant change from the 2015 result was that Fendt increased its rating substantially – jumping from position two to one in the process.
Looking at ‘after-sales service and warranty‘ dealers put Fendt in poll position, followed by Kubota, John Deere, Claas and Massey Ferguson – in that order. The result had been largely similar in 2015, though Kubota scored slightly higher than Fendt then.
In all, the various brands (manufacturers) were rated using a long list of criteria.
Criteria on which brands (manufacturers) were rated by dealers:
- Brand image and impact
- Marketing of tractors
- Marketing of spare parts
- Brand protection against non-original parts
- After-sales service and warranty
- Computer services
- Advertising and product support material
- Manufacturer’s level of participation in advertising costs
- Training
- Quality/price ratio of training programmes
- Management
- Communication and realism of manufacturer’s strategy
- Manufacturer/dealer relations
- Profitability contribution
- Willingness of manufacturer to improve weak points
- Financing offers
- Help provided for renting equipment
- Theft protection
Image source: Shane Casey
Overall, taking all the criteria into account, Fendt came out on top in the survey, followed by Kubota, Claas, Valtra, John Deere and Massey Ferguson in that order.
What is CLIMMAR?
Founded in 1953, CLIMMAR is an international network of distributors – representing 16 national associations and their member companies in the agricultural machinery and equipment industry.
Image source: Shane Casey
The organisation describes itself as “a kind of international melting pot of the agriculture machinery network, with each of the members contributing new ideas”. It says that it promotes the exchanging and sharing of ideas, for everyone’s benefit.
Image source: Shane Casey
