This profile of Kubota Europe focuses on the company’s compact construction equipment business in the European region, while it also touches on its farm equipment sector along with a deeper analysis of agricultural tractor operations.

It has been almost 50 years since Kubota established its first subsidiary in Europe. To consolidate its sales and marketing activities, Kubota has chosen to establish its European regional holdings in Nieuw-Vennep, in the Netherlands. Historically expanding its business on a country-by-country basis, it was in July 2017 when Kubota moved towards a pan-European operating structure to consolidate its corporate marketing and sales activities, and to strengthen partnerships with major rental companies, distributors, and service providers.

Globally, Kubota´s revenue has increased from ¥930.2 billion in 2004 to ¥2.679 trillion in 2022, with its overseas sales ratio rising from 30 per cent in 2004 to around 80 per cent in 2022.

Split into farm equipment and engines, and construction equipment, both segments have seen an average annual increase in turnover of 10 and 15 per cent respectively over the past five fiscal years.

Kubota acknowledges the growing demand for food and participates in higher horsepower tractors for use in livestock and arable farming markets in Europe and North America. In 2015 it established a production company in Bierne, Dunkerque, in Northern France to manufacture its M7 series tractors of 130 to 170 horsepower. Users can choose between a standard conventional powershift or premium continuously variable transmission (CVT). Since 2016 it has achieved an average annual output of around 2,135 tractor units, and accounts for around one per cent of total European production.

With a market share as high as 23 per cent, Kubota has been the perennial market leader in mini excavators in Europe. In the region, it also retains a market leading position in the crawler excavator market of 8 to 10 tonnes. Targeted at urban construction, Kubota is a manufacturer of compact articulated wheeled loaders, while its skid-steer and tracked loaders are destined for the North American markets. Meanwhile, its series of compact wheeled loaders of 1 to 3 tonnes and a single compact telescopic handler model are sourced from Tobroco, of the Netherlands.

Kubota distinguishes itself by its in-depth focus on compact construction machines. While it builds many critical components in-house, Kubota is the only mini excavator manufacturer in Europe that has its own in-house steel production.