Kubota Unveils Big, Bold M8 Tractor Series

Move over and make some room, large horsepower tractors. You’ve got new company, and it’s orange—the M8 Series of tractors from Kubota.

The company unveiled the new series to a segment of its North American dealer network and farm media Tuesday evening in Grapevine, Texas.

“It will be the perfect tractor for a 16-row planter, a 1,000-bushel grain cart or for some light tillage and general work around the farm,” notes Todd Stucke, Kubota senior vice president of marketing for the company.

Stucke says Kubota has been “creeping up in size and range” over the last few years, most notably with its M7 series of utility tractors. Yet, Stuckey says the company saw it wasn’t filling the customer needs in the overall utility segment.

“We needed to round out the line in the chassis size and go one size bigger to capture the whole segment,” Stucke notes.

The M8 series will offer farmers two models, both with a semi-powershift transmission and Kubota Variable Transmission (KVT):

• M8-191 with 190 engine hp; 162 PTO hp: 6 speeds, 5 ranges; 40 km/h and 50 km/h
• M8-211 with 210 engine hp; 178 PTO hp: infinitely variable speeds; 40 km/h and 50 km/h

Kubota dealers expressed enthusiasm and confidence in the new series.

“It’s the horsepower that we need, and I believe it will sell on its name alone,” says Greg Milholland, owner of Affolder Implement Sales, Berne, Ind. “Kubota is a very cautious company that does things right when it brings a product to market. Farmers know these are reliable products.”

Linda Salem, president and CEO of Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc., Salina, Kan., was on-hand for the unveiling and says Great Plains dealers look forward to marketing the M8 series.

“This tractor is a great fit for the dairy industry and hay market,” she says. Kubota is the parent company for Great Plains.

Salem adds that Kubota has stayed true to its long-term vision for bringing larger horsepower tractors to the agricultural industry, despite the harsh downturn farmers and the overall ag industry have endured the past five years.

“I will tell you from a Great Plains perspective that we’ve learned that in every ag downturn, you never slow down your product development. When the economy improves you want to be ready and have the product available that the customer needs, and that’s what Kubota has done,” says Salem.

So, is Kubota planning to go even bigger in the future?

“That’s the first question we got when we introduced the M7,” Stucke says, laughing “We’ve got to get the M8 right, and then we’ll see.

“This is a tractor that we’ve packed the latest technology into. At the same time, we're giving farmers the comfort of their office in the cab of the tractor. Come give us a look,” Stucke says.

Kubota has not released the price for the new M8 series but says it will be priced at a “step up” from the M7 series, which retails in a range that tops out at around $175,000.

The M8 series will be available to customers sometime the first quarter of 2020.