Hyderabad: With an eye on emerging as a pan-India player in the agricultural machinery market, Escorts Kubota Ltd (EKL) is making a serious play for the high-growth South Indian market with its foray into paddy and wetland farming segment. The company, which is a joint venture between Faridabad-based Escorts Group and Japan’s Kubota and primarily caters to the North Indian market, rolled out its first paddy farming tractor series, comprising 5 variants across the 39 HP to 52 HP category range, in Hyderabad. With its South play, EKL is aspiring to grow faster than the tractor industry, with at least 8 to 10 products to be rolled out every year until 2030-31, including offerings such as harvesters and transplanters, among others, Nikhil Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, EKL, told newspersons at the rollout of the Powertrac Shaurya series, which will cater to the mass market. “This is not just a product launch but a strategic launch of a product we did not have in our portfolio. The southern markets—Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu—grew more than the markets we are strong in. We started (South focus) with Powertrac, and in the next 4 months we plan to launch a 4-wheel-drive (4WD) tractor,” he said. “We have a very strong pipeline and by the next 2 years we will cover 85% of the range in terms of application products in the Indian market. After we get the products, we are confident to grow in excess of the industry and grow market share,” Nanda said. “In the next 5 years until FY31, every year, between the 3 brands—Powertrac, Farmtrac and Kubota—and exports, we plan to launch 8 to 10 products every year,” he added. While Powertrac is aimed at the mass market, Farmtrac is for the mid-market and Kubota for the premium segment.
