Provisional 2015 figures for Europe’s four largest tractor markets reveal further declines in the numbers in Germany and UK, and a slight recovery in France and Italy. New tractor sales fell by 6.9% in Germany to 32,220 units (includes tractors below 50hp). Tractor registrations (50hp+) in the UK last year reached 10,598 units, a drop of 14.8% on the level of the previous year, and the lowest unit total for over a decade. The AEA reckons this clearly reflects the difficult conditions that farmers faced in a year where most commodity prices were very weak. The average size of unit continues to increase with a 1.3% rise last year to 157.1hp. On a lighter note, following a massive drop of over 22% in 2014, the French tractor market rallied by nearly 2% last year to 33,828 units (mainly due to increased demand for specialist fruit tractors), and following several years of decline, the Italian tractor market rose by 1.4% last year to 18,420 units.