A total of 5,955 new tractors were registered in the UK in the first six months of this year.
Up by nearly a quarter on the equivalent period last year, this number is also higher than the total in the first half of 2024. While that represents a welcome recovery from the very low level of registrations recorded in 2025, it is still 5% below the recent average, reports the AEA.
Given that farmer confidence remains low and input costs have increased in recent months, the recovery remains fragile and gains could yet slowdown in the second half of the year, is the message.
Breaking the figures down, year-on-year growth was apparent across most of the power range, with the only exceptions being at the bottom (>100hp) and top (<320hp). In those two ranges, the number of tractors registered were down by 7% and 13%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.
Source: AEA
The strongest growth was in the 241-320hp range, which the AEA reckons is perhaps an indication that some farmers may have chosen to buy a smaller tractor than they might ordinarily have done, given the constrained finances in the arable sector.
Overall, the trends for different powers balanced out, meaning the average power of tractors registered during the six-month period was little changed from a year before, at around 173hp.
Source: AEA
The only two regions to see lower numbers of tractors being registered so far this year than in 2025 were the South East and East Midlands, although both only recorded small year-on-year falls. That corresponds with a general trend, which saw slower growth in the south and east of England than elsewhere in the UK.
The fastest growth was in Northern Ireland, where registrations were up by more than half; indeed, the number of tractors registered there so far this year is already over 90% of the total for the whole of 2025. Registrations in the West Midlands grew almost as quickly, and Yorkshire also saw strong growth.
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