This report concerns the market for agricultural tractors in Germany. The country is still a major manufacturer, but with Deutz-Fahr in Italian ownership, Fendt in American hands and Deere in Mannheim being bigger than the two of them put together, the industry is clearly no longer German-owned.

 The Federal Traffic Office supplies a full set of information on registrations. The VDMA trade association publishes the version of the figures, from which items such as telescopic handlers and quad bikes are excluded, which is the basis for the sales figures in this report.

 The findings presented in this report are based on an extensive interview programme undertaken with the major manufacturers and importers of tractors in the first quarter of 2020, and on Off-Highway Research’s International Database Service.

The onset of the Covid-19 global pandemic in March has inevitably impacted the operations of the German tractor manufacturers, all of whom were compelled to implement temporary suspensions in production as a result of widespread disruption to parts supply chains. In common with other industry sectors, short time working conditions were also introduced on assembly lines, although these restrictions are set to be lifted prior to the publication of this report.