Kubota marks 50 years in Europe with new M7004 tractor and autonomous updates

This year (2024) marked a significant milestone for Kubota, as it celebrated 50 years in Europe. PortAventura, Spain, was the chosen destinations for the Japanese manufacturer to host over 900 attendees, including dealers, and distributors, as well as international media and employees.

The two-day event provided not only a valuable insight into the brand’s history, but also its future plans, as well as a first look at a number of new additions to its expanding agricultural, groundcare and construction portfolios.

The Irish Farmers Journal exclusively attended the event.

European beginning’s

Kubota established its first European subsidiary in France in 1974. Since then, the brand has continued to expand within Europe and established subsidiaries in Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the UK.

Throughout Europe, Kubota has in excess of 1,300 dealers and distributors, and a workforce of approximately 5,000 employees.

Since, Kubota has worked to establish structures in order to be closer to its customers. These include Innovation and R&D centres in countries such as the Netherlands and France.

The latter not only being home to a 22,000m2 spare parts centre, but also its tractor production plant is in Dunkirk in the north of France. The Japanese manufacturer also builds a range of construction machinery in Zweibrucken, Germany.

In 2012 Kubota acquired the Kverneland Group, further strengthening its position in Europe. This has since been followed by more acquisitions, which include Gianni Ferrari, groundcare mower specialists, and Pulverizadores Fede, a company specialising in the manufacturer of sprayers for specialist crops.

Delving into Kubota’s business in Europe, 33% is construction machinery, 22% is tractors, while a further 22% is implements. Engines make up 16% of the business, while spare parts make up the final 6%.

Today, Kubota has a global turnover of €20bn, and claims to be the 3rd largest player in the global ag industry. The brand has a presence in 120 countries, and employs over 50,350 staff worldwide.

Six-cylinder tractors

For many years, we have awaited the arrival of a six-cylinder tractor series from Kubota, something that looked somewhat promising when the brand first partnered with Versatile to serve the North American market. This left us thinking that a similar partnership may be formed in Europe, but no.

At the event, the question was put forward to the brand’s tractor business unit European president, Satoshi Suzuki who was rather clear in stating that Kubota is currently not looking at a six-cylinder platform like it was once upon a time.

With the changing agricultural industry, Kubota now believes there is more opportunity in the lightweight tractor market, coupled with autonomy. Suzuki firmly believes that the age of heavier, larger machinery could in fact be over.

On the topic of alternative energy, he was quick to point out that Kubota’s belief is that there isn’t one particular alternative to a combustion engine. It believes there needs to be several application specific solutions, ie electrification, HVO, hydrogen, etc.

However, Kubota provided reassurance in stating that engines will remain crucial in industry and that it will keep innovating engine technology into the future.

Kubota, in its future vision, believes there are three strategic pillars: automation, sustainability and connectivity.

As part of its autonomous vision, it sees two main segments. The first is centred around high-value crops, where it intends to offer dedicated autonomous solutions, such as the KFAST sprayer.

The second segment is autonomy for tractors and similar equipment, whereby an autonomy kit can be fitted leaving the machine that it can be manually or autonomously operated.

Kubota is currently working in partnership with a French startup company to develop an autonomous retrofit kit for its tractors. At the event, it demonstrated an M7004 working with such a kit.

Kubota also sees Tractor Implement Management (TIM) as vital in the development of autonomy. It has now developed TIM Pack 2.0, which further builds on the original TIM standard and automates implement features to further reduce the actions needed by the operator.

For example, on its BV round balers, TIM Pack 2.0 allows control over the new Auto Feed Control device, whereby the hydraulic swinging drawbar can be automated to reposition itself on the swath, depending on signals from left and right bale indicators.

This allows for an optimum bale shape, while the operator stays central over the swath. It also allows the implementation of the Auto Blockage Control and Monitoring system.

New generation M7 series

Coinciding with the 50th year anniversary, Kubota used the event to introduce its new M7004 tractor lineup. The latest generation arrives exactly 10 years on from when the firm first showcased its largest tractor offerings.

The updated range is still made up of three models from 130hp to 175hp, and powered by the same 6.1l four-cylinder Kubota engine.

Models will still be offered with a powershift transmission or Kubota’s in-house developed CVT transmission, dubbed the Kubota Variable Transmission (KVT). The KVT has gained updated pre-set droop settings for customisable transmission sensitivity, which is said to offer improved fuel efficiency.

Other updates to the M7004 models are said to have been centred around operator convenience. These include a new cooling pack repositioned at the front of the engine, allowing better access to components for maintenance purposes.

A new diesel and AdBlue tank have been fitted along with new cab steps, which also allow improved access to and from the cab. A new automatic assisted parking brake has been integrated within the tractor shuttle and a quad-core processor has been added to the K-Monitor terminal, expanding functionality and giving faster processing speeds.

At the event, Kubota unveiled a new black and orange limited edition livery to mark the model’s introduction and celebrate the 50th anniversary. A total of 50 limited edition models will be built.

Kubota also outlined its intensions to bring to market two autosteer solutions in the not-so-distant future, a basic and affordable system alongside a more advanced system.

KFAST Autonomous sprayer

In line with its future visions, Kubota is dedicated in pursuing solutions for speciality crop sectors, ie UV boosting for plant resistance and chouette-sensing for disease control.

Further enhancing its cropcare solutions, Kubota unveiled its KFAST (Kubota Fede Autonomous Spraying Technology) autonomous sprayer for speciality crops.

Currently in its concept phase, the sprayer is a joint development with Fede to autonomously apply phytosanitary treatments and offers the option of remote-control guidance.

The unit has been designed from the ground up and offers 4x4 driveline. It is currently fitted with a 98hp engine and is said to be offered with tank capacities between 2,000l and 4,000l.

Ongoing treatments are monitored and displayed on the Specialty Crops Platform (SCP), Fede’s digital agronomic management tool.

In addition, KFAST sends alerts in case of an incident or when parameters are out of range, including the detection of an empty spray tank or diesel tank.

It can then autonomously return to the station for refilling. Once the treatment is completed, all the data is registered, providing real traceability and required information to generate the digital farm book.

The robot adapts spraying in real time, with individual control of the nozzles to adjust the application tree by tree, while maintaining a constant pressure and application flow in each open nozzle.

Sensor technology on the KFAST uploads data in relation to the state of the plantation, which then can be used by third parties to offer the respective agronomic services, ie yield prediction, pest detection, etc.