The latest FTMTA Statistics Service Report for January 2025 shows the current level of vehicle registration activity in the farm machinery sector in Ireland. The numbers of imported used tractors and machines, registered for the first time in Ireland, declined compared with the same month of January 2024.
Tractors
The January 2025 new tractor market at 382 units was reflected in an 11% drop in new tractor registrations compared with the same month in 2024. There may be a number of reasons for this reduction, including a shorter month for active vehicle registrations, due to longer Christmas holidays and impact that the storm Eowyn had on commercial and farming activities across areas of rural Ireland for a period of more than 10 days during January 2025.
County Cork continued to deliver the highest number of new tractor registrations at 54 units for the year-to-date, while Tipperary was ranked in second place with 45 units followed by Galway at 28 units.
The most popular power band for 2025 was the 161hp to 200hp category, which accounted for 28% of all new tractor registrations for the month of January 2025. Registrations of tractors in the power band between 100hp and 140hp decreased by 4.67% in January 2025 compared with 2024. The over 200hp category accounted for 12.57% of all new tractors, almost the same percentage as it was in January 2024. The monthly average tractor horsepower figure for January 2025 increased to 156hp, up from 152hp in January 2024. The largest tractor registered in Ireland in January 2025 was rated at 411hp.
The FTMTA data shows that 194 imported used tractors were first-time registered in Ireland in January 2025, 8 units less than in January 2024.
Telescopic Loaders
The Irish market for new telescopic loaders reported slowed down in January 2025 at 156 units. The latest FTMTA data shows new telescopic registrations decreased in January 2025 by 2.5% compared with January 2024 when 160 units were registered. The two leading brands JCB and Manitou account for 78% of the total market, while Kramer has grown to a healthy 22% market share. There were 30 imported used telescopic loaders registered in January 2025 down from 42 in January 2024.
Wheeled Loaders
The Irish wheeled loader market recorded a lower number of new registrations in January 2025 at 22 units compared with January 2024 at 35 units, which was a market decrease of 59%. The market dominance of the smaller Chinese manufactured machines at the lower price and power end of the market now accounts for over 86% of the new wheeled loader registrations in Ireland. There were just 4 imported used wheeled loaders registered in January 2025.
Backhoe Loaders
The Irish backhoe loader market increased in January 2025 compared with January 2024 with 10 new machines registered, which converts to a 66% increase. There were 3 used backhoe loaders registered in January 2025 in Ireland.
UTV Registrations
There were 38 new UTV’s registered in Ireland in January 2025, with just one used imported UTV registered for the first time for the same month.
