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2024 Update Coming Soon Published Date: Sep 2022 Number of Pages: 126
Modern farm tractors can be used for a wide variety of jobs such as pulling cultivators, harrows, wagons, and more. They are generally of 2 kinds, 2WD and 4WD. 2WD tractors are ideally suited for small farms and flatter terrains.
The 4WD tractors are much bigger and have more power to pull larger attachments. 4WD tractors are suitable in wet conditions and tougher terrains.
In 2019, tractors accounted for 32% of the global spending on agricultural machinery.
Over the years to improve the comfort of the driver there has been high penetration of leather seats in the tractor seats segment. The leather seats have almost become mandatory fitment in the higher-powered tractors.
In the US, almost every >75 HP-powered tractors are fitted with leather. In Europe, some of the lower-powered tractors such as 50-60 HP powered vehicles too were fitted with synthetic leather seats enhancing the comfort of the driver.
In high-powered tractors such as the >200 HP ones, the seats were fitted with “Alcantara” leather seats which provide comparatively more grip than a typical synthetic leather. In the US, the low-budget and low-powered Mahindra tractors had seats mostly covered with cloth.
However, in a market such as India which is the largest tractor market, the average power of the tractor is <50HP, and thus the leather seat penetration is significantly less. There is a high percentage of tractors fitted with the FIP (foam in place) cushions, covered with vinyl material.
In Australia, too there has an increased fitment of cloth-covered seats in the lower powered tractors.
Ventilation has become one of the most important features of tractor seating. Heating and ventilation have been one of the newest additions to these vehicles when compared to other automobiles. Just like the suspension, the ventilation feature too is directly related to the power of the tractor.
With the increase in the power of tractors, the bigger size tractors have created room for the seats to be ventilated. In the US only John Deere tractors with 200+ HP were equipped with seat ventilation.
However, in Europe, the percentage of the fitment of this ventilation is higher, and in tractors such as Case and Claas even in the sub-100 HP ones, the seats had heating and ventilation features.
In Australia, the New Holland tractors of 200+ HP models were equipped with the ventilation option.
Mechanical Suspension with a damper is the most commonly found tractor seat. Since a market like India has the highest number of sub-75HP tractors, the volume of mechanically suspended seats is comparatively higher than the air suspension seats.
In the US, the John Deere and Massey Ferguson Tractors with power of more than 200 HP were mostly equipped with air suspension seats. However, in the Europe market Case and Fendt tractor models with power around 70-80 HP too were also equipped with air suspension seats.
In Australia, the high-powered Massey Ferguson and New Holland tractors were equipped with air-suspension seats. Also, the low-powered 100 HP tractors of Japanese maker Kubota were equipped with air-suspended seats.
The tractor seats market is majorly driven by high-powered tractors as the market value of seats is directly proportional to the power capacity of the tractor used.
With the increase in tractor capacity, there is a need for extra comfort and also it leads to the requirement of the latest technology in construction enhancing its mechanism. Regions such as the US, Canada, Europe, and Russia where the average tractor power is around 70-100 HP are the major driving regions in the market.
John Deere tractors which had the highest number of 100+ HP model tractors also had the most advanced machinery equipment and the most comfortable seating features. John Deere Tractors were equipped with one of the highest degrees of freedom and also were capable of seat swivel of up to 40 degrees. It was the only manufacturer to provide lumbar support to the tractor seats.
New Holland and Massey Ferguson Tractors more or less had similar features for same capacity tractors.
Mahindra tractors had comparatively limited features and air spring suspension seats only in the >100 HP tractor models.
The US had a higher penetration of instructor seats due to its increased volume of high-powered tractors. An individual seat with significantly less comfort features is placed next to the driver.
Air suspension seats were quite a common feature in the tractors of these German manufacturers. Low-powered ones are also equipped with the air suspension seats in the German tractors.
The higher variants in these tractors are mostly equipped with the deluxe version of leather seats which provide a higher degree of comfort to the drivers. Similar to the US the higher-powered ones with more space in the vehicle were equipped with the instructor seat. Tractors manufactured by Case and Claas provided the instructor seat as optional in their models.
Indian tractors have one of the least modernized seats and have mostly mechanically suspended seats. The seat adjustment feature in these tractors is very limited with only 4 degrees of freedom.
In India, the individual instructor seat in tractors is almost a rarity but, a bench seat to accommodate 3 people on the side of the driver is the most popular feature.
The seating market for tractors especially in markets such as India had a huge scope for improvement as in the adoption of air-suspended seats. This will boost the market value of the seating market in the region.
In the Europe and US markets, it is expected that only the volume of the tractors will propel the market value of the tractor seating.
Since, there is enough penetration of modernized seats in high-powered tractors it can be predicted that these highly mechanized seats will stay in this segment rather than making an entry to low-powered ones, as it requires sufficient space and also, will increase the overall price.
Increased horsepower is added to John Deere 9 Series tractors, and across the board, Intelligent Power Management for hydraulics can add 50 horsepower when using tools that require a lot of hydraulic power.
Footrests, a refrigerator, and a heated, vented, massaging seat that swivels up to 25 degrees to the left and 40 degrees to the right for better visibility are all included in the Ultimate Comfort and Convenience package.
The three-model Hagie range will be completely new in 2022. ExactApply, JDLink, and the cab from the X9 combine are just a few of the John Deere sprayer technologies they incorporate.
The refrigerator, radio with smartphone control, and optional leather seat with massage are also included for the sprayers. Additionally, you have the choice of installing the Active Seat II for even more comfort.
Some of the leading companies in the Tractors and Harvesters seating are Akkomsan Otomotiv and Arimis Seating both based in Turkey. KAB Seating (UK) and SEAT Industries (Italy) are the other European companies, that are the leading market players in this sector.
In India Harita Seating based in Chennai with a manufacturing plant in Hosur is one of the leading suppliers of seating tractors and other agricultural equipment. SIETZ based in Haryana, India is another leading tractor seat supplier.
