6,198 new 50hp+ tractors were registered in the UK during the first six months of this year, reports the AEA.
While down -5.1% when compared to the numbers during the same half year in 2018, the level was still higher than in the first half of any year since 2014, other than 2018.
In terms of power, the bulk of the decline in registrations during the first six months of this year came in the 121hp-160hp range, where numbers were down by over 200 units (-11%), compared with January to June 2018. This accounted for around two-thirds of the total fall.
The number of 240hp+ tractors registered also fell by 11%, and tractors over 280hp were down by more than a quarter. Sales of the larger tractors bounced back in the second quarter, though, having been down by even more in the first three months of the year. In other power ranges, changes in the number of machines registered were relatively small.
At regional level, the drop in agricultural tractor registrations was apparent across most of England and Wales, apart from the Home Counties and East Anglia, but not in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where numbers were up year on year.
The sharpest fall was in the East Midlands, reversing a big increase in registrations in 2018, where registrations declined by a third. The South East, West Midlands, Yorkshire and North East all saw drops of between 10% and 20%. In contrast, registrations in Northern Ireland rose by 11%, compared with January to June 2018.
