In the first six months of 2026, 485 new compact tractors were sold in the Netherlands. That is 140 more than in the same period last year, when the counter stopped at 345, and almost double the 279 units recorded in the first half of 2024. The figures come from the registration data of trade association Fedecom and were published by Nieuwe Oogst on 21 August.
Set that against the rest of the market and the contrast leaps out. Across the tractor market as a whole, just over 1,400 units were registered in the first half of the year, according to RDW data compiled by Fedecom. That is around a hundred more than in the same period of 2025, but still almost three hundred fewer than in 2024. In the heavy class, then, the recovery is tentative. In the compact segment there is nothing tentative about it: growth there stands at more than forty per cent.
Japanese importers take the segment
Who is benefiting is clear from the brand breakdown. Fedecom only releases figures per brand after twelve months, in line with competition law, so the most recent picture by brand is that of the first half of 2025. In that period Iseki led comfortably with 227 tractors sold, against 126 in the same period of 2024 and 163 in 2023. Kubota followed at a distance with 45 units, against 38 in 2024 and 42 in 2023. South Korea's Kioti moved the other way: from 55 units in the first half of 2023, via 39 in 2024, to 31 in 2025.
Among the traditional agricultural brands the erosion was sharper. New Holland still sold 124 compact tractors in the first half of 2023; two years later that was down to 12. John Deere, too, has been giving ground in this segment for several years. The pattern will be familiar to any dealer: the horticultural, municipal and parks customer increasingly ends up with a Japanese importer, while the big manufacturers point their development budget and their dealer organisation at the heavy class, where the margin per machine is simply higher.
The fact that the brand figures run a year behind is a handicap for interpretation. The volume figures for 2026 say something about the direction of travel, but not about whether Iseki has extended its lead further this year. That cannot be established until the middle of 2027.
Manufacturers see the same pattern
The Dutch figures do not stand alone. Wacker Neuson, parent company of Kramer and Weidemann, posted revenue from agricultural machinery of EUR 298.2 million in the first half of 2026, against EUR 197.9 million a year earlier. That is a rise of 50.7 per cent, in a market the company itself describes as subdued. Revenue from compact equipment rose by 25.9 per cent to EUR 742.5 million, group revenue by 16.9 per cent to EUR 1,256.5 million and operating profit by 86.6 per cent to EUR 104.7 million. The figures were published on 13 August, together with a raised full-year forecast.
At John Deere as well, the dividing line runs straight through the product range. In the third quarter of financial year 2026 the Small Ag & Turf division grew revenue by 12 per cent and operating profit by 28 per cent, while demand for heavy agricultural machinery remained weak. We wrote about that earlier in John Deere sees tractor sales fall, Europe stable.
Sentiment in the sector is creeping up
At European level the bottom is in sight, but no more than that. The Business Barometer from manufacturers' association CEMA, published on 13 August, came in at minus 14 points, against minus 19 a month earlier. On a scale from minus one hundred to plus one hundred that is still recession territory. More telling is where the improvement comes from: the assessment of current business remains weak, and the pick-up sits almost entirely in expectations for the coming six months. Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Ireland are pulling the index up; Poland and France are pushing it down.
That matters for the compact market, because it follows a different cycle from arable machinery. A local authority, a grounds maintenance contractor, a tree nursery or a horse yard looks at interest costs and at the maintenance budget, not at the grain price. That makes demand in this segment less cyclical and, as is now becoming apparent, better able to withstand a poor farming year.
What it means for residual values
Sales figures for new machines are a predictor of the supply of second-hand equipment three to six years out. Putting 485 compact tractors into the market per half-year lays the foundation for a wider used offering around 2030. In the short term it works the other way round: the supply of young, used compact tractors is thin, because the intake in 2023 and 2024 was low. That keeps prices for well-maintained examples firm.
On top of that, compact tractors generally clock up few hours and last a long time. A fifteen-year-old machine with 1,500 hours is no exception in this segment, whereas an arable tractor of that age is long past ten thousand hours. That translates into a flatter depreciation curve, certainly for brands with a dense dealer network and good parts availability. Anyone who wants to know where their machine stands can look up the market value by make and model on our overviews for Iseki and Kubota, or go straight to a valuation.
Caveats to the growth
A degree of level-headedness is in order. We are talking about 485 machines. In absolute terms this remains a small segment alongside the more than 1,400 tractors registered in total, and the 2024 comparison base was notably weak. Part of the growth is catch-up demand from customers who put off replacement for two years. On top of that, the Dutch figures include a category that never reaches agriculture at all, from municipal grounds maintenance to riding schools and golf courses.
What dealers need to allow for:
- the brand figures for 2026 will not follow until the middle of 2027, so steering by your own order book is the only alternative for now;
- the supply of young used machines in this segment will remain tight until at least 2028, which supports trade-in values;
- customers in this segment stay loyal to a brand for as long as the servicing stays with the same dealer.
The direction of travel, meanwhile, is clear enough. As long as the heavy tractor market sits a quarter to a third below its 2024 level and the CEMA index stays in the red, the compact segment is where dealers will find their volume. For brands that have neglected this segment in recent years, winning those customers back will be hard: once an Iseki or a Kubota is parked outside, the owner generally stays with the dealer who does the servicing.