Although the number of new agricultural tractors registered in the UK in June remained well below the seasonal average, the year-on-year decline was the smallest since November, according to the latest Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) latest report.
The monthly total of 852 machines was only 2% lower than the number recorded in June 2024. However, it was only around three-quarters of the average number registered in June over the previous five years. That brought the total for the first half of the year to 4,869 machines, 17% fewer than in January to June 2024 and 25% below average. This is the lowest level of new tractor registrations recorded in the UK market by this point in the year since 1998.
The AEA has reported that there have been fewer new tractors registered so far this year across virtually the whole of the power range. However, the fastest declines have been for the biggest machines.
Registrations of tractors over 240hp were down by 38%, compared with January to June 2024. This segment of the market was the only one to see growth during 2024, so it is perhaps unsurprising that it was the focus of declines this year, according to the AEA.
Below that level, the drop was a smaller, though still substantial, 14%. As a result, the average power of agricultural tractors recorded during the period was 173.8hp, down from 180.7hp in the first half of last year.
There were also year-on-year declines across all parts of the UK in the first half of 2025. The falls were smallest in Southern England, where only a handful fewer agricultural tractors were registered this year. These regions saw some of the biggest declines in registrations last year, so numbers there were still low by historic standards.
Northern Ireland also performed relatively well, seeing a below average annual fall, after holding steady in 2024. In contrast, the sharpest declines were seen in the Midlands and North of England, where many regions saw falls of 30% or more, compared with the opening six months of last year.
