There is no end to what President Trump will do next. This Wednesday is, as he puts it, ‘Liberation Day’. It is when he will introduce tariffs on car imports to the US. This will particularly affect Europe. There are already tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. This may also have an indirect effect on the dealership industry. The cost of purchasing and selling new machinery will become ever more unpredictable.
With that in mind alternative options of doing business may become necessary. One such option may be renting or leasing out new equipment. Financial pressures on farmers in particular may not allow them to purchase new machinery. Instead, having the choice of renting may seem more attractive for them, especially for small-scale farmers and growers who may not need equipment throughout the year.
With economic pressures affecting sales, the market for 2025 still looks uncertain with some predicting a 2% decline in new equipment sales by the end of the year. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released their figures for February and they showed that 231 new tractors were licensed for the first time. This represents a drop of 8% compared to the same period last year when 250 new tractors were licensed.
As tractor sales are slowing down there is a growing trend among customers of making existing tractors last longer. This will see a big demand in after sales service which will include spare parts, maintenance and repairs. It will be important for dealers to offer a high standard of service and have quality spare parts available and that they are also quickly and easily sourced.
Despite the gloomy outlook the next decade will see a lot of advancements in agricultural and horticultural equipment. I think the biggest development will be in the area of alternative fuels. Governments are under pressure to reduce global warming so fossil fuels will be under the microscope. We are still in the early stages of this but trials in electric and hydrogen powered engines in the agricultural and horticultural sectors look very promising.
On a final note, I’m sad to say that this is my last blog as editor of Service Dealer Ireland. From now on you will receive regular updates from Service Dealer’s UK and Ireland edition, which will be brought to you by Steve Gibbs. I thoroughly enjoyed keeping you up to date on what has been happening in the dealership industry in Ireland and beyond over the past six years. One of the most exciting things that stood out for me during those years has been how farm and garden machinery has embraced robotic and precision farming technologies. No doubt this will continue well into the future. Even more exciting times lie ahead.
Signing off for now.
