8/11/2019 Rural Case1

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  U IN

just got posh

 kh hlaq Singh ujla

 TNN

t's an oldstory that farmers from

North India love their Mercedes

almost asmuch as their mustard.

According to a Confederation of

Indian Industry-AT Kearney

, Punjab alone accounted for

70units out of 10,870imported cars

d in India in 2012_This included

s like BMw,Mercedes and Audi.

Today, companies believe they are

t on the money bylaunching luxu-

tractors targeted at consumers pow-

d by rural wealth. Escorts Ltd is

y selling Ferrari tractors in In-

, while Italian manufacturer SAME

-Fahr (SDF)Group, owners of the

hini tractor brand, will be

ging a range of Lamborghini trac-

to India by 2014.

One of the first to get into the pre-

um tractor market was Mahindra &

, India's largest tractor man-

turer. Back in 2011, it announced

launch of Arjun International, a

ium tractor with a high-powered

ine and air-condit ioned cabin,

ced at Rs 15lakh. The boom in the

ury car industry - valued at 5.8

  2011and expected to treble by

15-encouraged international play-

toenter the high-end tractor market

well. India's interest in high-end

ucts has been proved bythe luxury

segment and wehope these tractors

ll catch the imagination of the farm-

community like luxury cars, S

, CEO of Escorts Agri Machin-

said inan earlier interview toTOI.

e of the oldest manufacturers of

tors in India, Escorts has signed a

nership agreement with Italian

pany BCS SpA to distribute Fer-

i tractors in India. Rajan Nanda,

rman and managing director; Es-

s Ltd believes that Indian agricul-

ists have evolved from being subsist-

farmers to those with an entrepre-

ial bent of mind.  Today'sfarmers

looking for equipment that is high

cision and output Escorts wants

partner with this forward looking

ian farmer by bringing interna-

al technology and design standards

he Indian tractor market. 

Escorts isoffering a 26lIP machine

able for specialised farming, such

in vineyards and fruit orchards.

ed at Rs8lakh, it is already avail-

in Maharashtra and is being tar-

d at Kolhapur; Sangli and Nashik

. The needs of orchard and

yard growers are more advanced

the product will address them ef-

ently, says Nikhil Nanda, joint

aging director, Escorts Ltd.

Uday Mahajan says he was im-

ssed by more than just the brand

e of the 26lIP Ferrari tractor he

ht ThefarmerfromPeth Vadgaon

Haat Kanagale tehsil of Maharash-

's Kolhapur district, among the first

buy the Ferrari tractor in India, re-

ched the best options for his40-acre

dy field.  I saw 20 different video

s before zeroing in on Escorts Fer-

,  says Mahajan, who paid Rs 6.5

hfor the tractor and ispleased with

results. Ittook half a litre of diesel

ne acre ofland. Had the sowing

done manually, I would have to

ign six farm hands and pay them

A Ferra ri for your farm? That s not a fa r-fetched dream .

Encouraged by boom in g sales of luxury cars  com panies are

drivin g prem ium tractors into the rural m arket

E R H R V E ST

lamborghini tractors are likelyto hit the markets next year

Rs600per day  He's particularly happy

about the four-wheel drive which

makes turning in confined spaces

easier as well as the extensive attach-

ments the tractor can accommodate.

With its Lamborghini tractors, the

SDF group is targeting rich farmers,

high net worth individuals with farm-

ing interests and owners of golf cours-

es,cricketstadiumsandluxuryresorts.

Lamborghini tractor models in Rani-

pet, Tamil Nadu, for export to Europe

and Malaysia.

Harminder Singh, a SDF distribu-

tor from Bhogpur inJalandhar district,

believes his clients will be excited about

luxury tractors. Some of our farmers

have rich NRI relatives who will be

keen to invest, while others will just

want to be the first to buy an exclusive,

high-end foreign brand, he says.

Luxury tractors aren't just meas-

ured by horsepower (lIP) and other

technical specifications, it's the cus-

tomisation offered that sets them apart.

Internationally, luxury tractors accom-

modate small workstations, andfeature

fridges or coolboxes and drink holders,

sound systems and luxury trims, either

in wood or leather. They even have

leather steering wheels.

While some distributors believe

there isa market forluxury tractors in

India, others are more cautious. Ac-

cording tothe state farm departments,

the number of tractors in Punjab and

Haryana are about 4.43lakh and 2.70

lakh respectively. Most of these are

high horsepower and suitable for large

farms, but since land holdings in both

states have been shrinking over the

years most machines are under-uti-

lised. Tractors are used for about 400

hours a year in Punjab, far lower than

the 1,000hours per annum required to

make them economically viable. For

new entrants to make a dent in this

already saturated market, dealers po

out that local brand-building and

efficient after-sales service count

more thanjust a luxurious brand id

tity. American company New Holla

Ford, one of the world's biggest ma

facturers of tractors,launched in In

in 1998.  Despite being a big fore

brand, initially westruggled togain

confidence of farmers in Punjab a

Haryana, who were unaware of

name, says a dealer.

Manpreet Singh Bajwa, a farm

from Khaira Kalan village in Ma

district of south Punjab, says the tr

tor market ishighly competitive.  C

panies offer everything from free af

sales service to accessories topersua

farmers to trade in their oldmachine

he says.Jang Bahadur Singhfrom Ja

shed village, Jalandhar district, iso

of the area's biggest potato farmers.

is skeptical about the utility value

these fancy products. I 'dwantto kn

whetherrotavators, straw reapers a

balers of large sizes can be attach

and operated easily with thesemode

he says, revealing that while so

farmers are already operating 90

tractors with air-conditioned cabins

drivers, parts and accessories that

befitted tothese tractors are not eas

available in the market.  Farmers

not able to get the best output or

machines are under-utilised,' he sa

With ileep  thavale in Pune a

Nikhil eshmukh in Kolhapur

It s t h e c u s t o m i s a t i o n

t h at s et s l u x u r y

t r ac to r s a p a r t. T h e y

c a n a c c o m m o d a t e

s m a ll w o r k s t at io n s

f r i d g e s s o u n d

s y s te m s a n d l u x u r y

t r i m s s u c h a s l e a t h er

s t e er in g w h e el s

Their machines are priced approxi-

mately Rs 10 lakh upwards abroad.

BhanuSharma, managing director and

CEO of SDFIndiaPvtLtd, told a news-

paper in April,  We are studying the

market and may introduce some range

of Lamborghini tractors in about a

year. SDFalready manufactures select