The point is - it's no use if people who drive very old Zetors say they won't buy the new ones. Most of the new ones (from 2010 to 2025) haven't bought them either.
The test models have been tested by farmers who run HSX and HD Forterras: Not by farmers who can benchmark them against New Holland T6 or Deere 6M 150
With the
Forterra HD they just listened to people yelling that the
hydraulic levers in the HSX, which have been used since 1991 on the 9540, suck and that other brands have more comfort, so they slapped a bunch of electrohydraulic valves on a 30 year old tractor design...
Now this time, they seem to have looked at what competitors have been doing since the 2000s... I see a lot of design ques from the Case CVX/ Steyr CVT in it, and thats a good thing. Those tractors are still popular for their comfort, albeit a bit thirsty.
With those older CVX, they do cost a bit to repair an electrohydraulic valve block for 3000 euro, but they are still so comfortable that people accept this.
The thing i was afraid of, was that
Zetor would up the price with German components, but loose the battle because of stupid, avoidable mistakes on ergonomy and comfort like they have been doing for decades.
....i am still hesitant to call this a hit, but when we are nitpicking about lack of a control terminal support bracket, Zetors design team has done pretty good
I would like to have one on demo here in town, at several customers who never looked back at Zetor after selling their 9641 or 11441... And a contractor whose last were 16245, although all these customers are CVT six pot customers nowadays...
And so Zetor only has two options: either give up straight away, or hope that the new series will turn things around.
they had to turn ship before running aground. Too bad that they let it run so close that they had to terminate half the company, but its better than bankruptcy.
The fact is, Zetor has held on to its outdated transmissions for far too long and wasted money that it should have invested in its own engines. But that train has now left the station.
They invested in a 16 valve head. People say they pulled great, better than 6 cylinders. The Motorpal common rail system was a failure on Belarus (MTZ) tractors, but Zetor should have put on a Bosch system on it.
Especially the last generations nailed pretty loud at idle, an effect of the emission levels that require high injection pressure. They did quite nice with a mechanical pump, but in the end the balance did turn in favour of common rail.. But too late for Zetor.
They can always do like Same and begin building their engines again if their sales exceeds 12.000 units a year again... ?
But it's also a fact that if the price and quality are right, the 6 series can be a success. Look, Skoda is also successful, even though there are VW, Audi and Seat. Even if you use the same basic components, the end result can be significantly different. I think the decisive factor will be how Zetor sets the price and whether they can build clever solutions around the core components. Like Skoda: Simply clever.
Yes, thats where Zetor should aim. But even when simple, ergonomic errors are unforgiven in todays market !! It has to work slick as a greased turd, then it will definately sell !
Also, a CVT is needed. Here in my area, powershift doesnt sell anymore. Especially with the 3 reverse powershifts, this is a serious drawback when pushing a selfloading wagon up a heap in reverse, or manoevering with a heavy slurry tanker.
If Zetor can sell a CVT for the price of a Deere 6M with automatic range shift PowerQuad, it will definately sell to dairymen that prefer CVT when mowing, but dont care for all the automatic functions.
Apart from that, the Zetor with Deutz/ZF/Carraro has a decisive advantage over the Deutz - the Zetor is nicer because it's red and it has by far the better cab roof than the Deutz with its damn glass ball cab where you're grilled in the afternoon at 40°C in the shade from spring to late summer despite the air conditioning because the sun is burning directly on your skin. With the Zetor you have more roof overhang, which means shade, which in my opinion is a point that shouldn't be neglected.
Roof overhang: This was a huge drawback with the Case Maxxum 5140 because you couldnt see the choppers pipe above the wagon behind you. The Crystal 160 also had this problem because the cab sat too low.
But as long as the majority only talks about the old days and does not buy new tractors, Zetor can only lose.
The Crystal 160 i spoke about was demo'd at a contractor who ran Zetor for years. They wanted to try "the new Zetor 6 pot" as a replacement of an old 6910, they wanted a simple tractor with which any hired hand could cart silage. They were disappointed by the fact that it had a light Forterra rear axle, weird shifting pattern (it made it not a tractor anyone can drive, you have to get used to it) and that the cab sat so low that you feel like driving a tank instead of a tractor and you dont see the chopper pipe above the wagon.
When Zetor comes with a Rada 7 with 180hp and powershift, i am sure they will be glad to test it.
10 years ago, they ended up buying a 6M powerquad instead.
www.zetor.com
