Who actually makes the tractor and whose engine and transmission does it carry?

[jyoutz]

Kubota's big M8 series is a Versatile made in Canada.

Thanks for that information. That’s probably the only rebadged model.

 

[ptsg]

Any similarities between this Kubota EK1-261 and the Farmtrac FT26 made by Escorts Limited in India are pure coincidence...

 

[sea2summit]

Any similarities between this Kubota EK1-261 and the Farmtrac FT26 made by Escorts Limited in India are pure coincidence...

Couldn't possibly be because Kubota owns a significant portion of Farmtrac India?

 

[sea2summit]

Kubota's big M8 series is a Versatile made in Canada.

Cummings makes a good engine. Wouldn't stop me from buying that Kubota unless there was a better price/option. Heck, if anything it's probably way easier to source Cummings' parts.

 

[ptsg]

Couldn't possibly be because Kubota owns a significant portion of Farmtrac India?

I don't remember the details but I'm sure it's on the internet somewhere.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I was looking at the LS tractors at the dealer, and noticed it had Mitsubishi engines, but now I am told the LS uses Yanmar, Mitsubishi and LS engines depending on model. Now I know my John Deere is basically a Yanmar drivetrain with engine and transmission, but the FEL and Backhoe are to my understanding made by John Deere. The Kubota is a Japanese brand, and yet to my understanding the drivetrain with engine and transmission along with the FEL and Backhoe are made in the US by Kubota. Who and where is the real manufacturer of the tractors, and is the whole tractor made by them or the drivetrain with engine and transmission 'farmed out' so to say to another manufacturer? Or do some just get it from whoever, like they built the Jeep in WWII?

In a global economy the only real questions are: does it have a reputation for reliability; is the dealer reputable: are parts readily available and will the likely be so in the future; does the dealers shop have a good rep? Most tractors, even those who claim American origin outsource parts from all over the world. The name on an engine signifies who engineered it not necessarily who actually manufactured it. Ancient example the Merlin engine was designed and manufactured by Rolls Royce but the design was also built by Packard in the US. Both engines are Merlin engines.

 

[dodge man]

Tractor Time with Tim has a video of a tour of the plant where they make the smaller JD tractors. The engine is Yanmar but the transmission is made in the US. All the parts? Who knows, I know my FEL hydraulic quick connects say Italy. JD is American made as any small tractor but so is Kubota.

JD’s big stuff is made here, I’m talking large tractors, combines etc. The plants in Iowa and the Quad Cities area of Illinois.

 

[finn1]

Will drive you crazy trying to figure that out;I know the most American made car is a Honda;and truck is a Toyota!
I believe Kubota at least makes all the own parts.

That’s been refuted numerous times.

Nice try, though.

 

[s219]

I was looking at the LS tractors at the dealer, and noticed it had Mitsubishi engines, but now I am told the LS uses Yanmar, Mitsubishi and LS engines depending on model. Now I know my John Deere is basically a Yanmar drivetrain with engine and transmission, but the FEL and Backhoe are to my understanding made by John Deere. The Kubota is a Japanese brand, and yet to my understanding the drivetrain with engine and transmission along with the FEL and Backhoe are made in the US by Kubota. Who and where is the real manufacturer of the tractors, and is the whole tractor made by them or the drivetrain with engine and transmission 'farmed out' so to say to another manufacturer? Or do some just get it from whoever, like they built the Jeep in WWII?

You can look at some of Neil Messick's videos. Most small (under ~ 70HP) Kubota tractors still are made in Japan and ship over here in a crate in a partial knocked-down form. Basically the full tractor is in the crate minus the wheels/tires. Messicks showed how they used staggered pallets to save space with the tractors by nesting them together. The tires are sourced in the USA and will arrive at the dealer separately. The loaders and backhoes are made by Kubota USA in Georgia and arrive at the dealer separate from the tractor. It's the dealer that puts everything together.

The one exception are some of the large cabbed tractors, which Kubota USA assembles in their factory. Starts as a crated tractor kit from Japan and then they add the cab. I believe this is done because it's simpler than shipping the cabs by themselves.

I think in recent years Kubota USA has started doing more manufacturing (for instance, they make the RTVs from scratch) and that may have trickled over to some tractors by now. But the two formats I described above account for the vast majority of the smaller tractors, so most of them continue starting out as a crated knock-down kit from Japan.

 

[Torvy]

I think the more important question may be 'how long has the company who actually builds and designs the tractors been on the business.'.

Most of them have been at it longer than many people seem to think.