UK tractor registrations serve as a key indicator of the agricultural equipment market, reflecting economic and sector trends; in 2024, registrations fell 13% from the previous year to their lowest level since 1998, with declines across most power ranges except for the largest tractors. Regional trends varied, with grazing livestock areas faring better than arable regions.
Agricultural Market Strength
UK tractor registrations serve as a general measure of the strength of the domestic agricultural equipment market. Since tractors must be licensed for public road use, they are registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), enabling precise tracking.
Tractor sales—including parts and accessories—make up nearly half of the farmers’ total equipment expenditures in terms of value, reinforcing the importance of this data as a key market indicator.
Annual Market Summary (2024)
Data indicates that 2024 saw a decline in UK tractor registrations, coinciding with financial challenges in the agricultural sector. Reports suggest that lower commodity prices, adverse weather conditions, and economic and political uncertainty affected farm finances, particularly in the arable sector.
Tractor registrations totalled 10,241 for the year, representing a 13% decrease from 2023. This figure falls below the average of 11,500 to 12,100 recorded in six of the previous seven years. The 2024 total was the lowest annual figure since 1998. It was comparable to previous years when market downturns were linked to weather-related factors.
Historic Trends
Tractor registrations in 2024 were 13% lower than in 2023. They were below the average size of the market in the previous five years. Except for 2020, which was a pandemic-affected year, the UK tractor market has been stable recently, with registrations falling between 11,580 and 12,040 in six of the previous seven years.
In 2024, the downward trend in registrations was apparent across most of the power range, with the only exception being for the biggest machines, with power over 240hp. The number of such tractors registered during the year was 14% higher than in 2023; across the rest of the power range, registrations were down by 17% yearly. That meant the average power of tractors recorded in 2024 increased to 179.7hp. That compares with 173.8hp in 2023 and just 168.4hp in 2022.
It also means that while the number of tractors registered in 2024 was slightly lower than in 2020, during the previous downturn, the total power of machines logged was 4% higher, at 1.84 million hp. That is still 10% less than in 2023, though.
Regional Trends
Most of the UK saw substantially fewer tractor registrations in 2024 than in 2023. The exceptions were Northern Ireland, which recorded a slight year-on-year increase, and Scotland and North East England, where registrations were only down 3-4%.
These are areas dominated by grazing livestock farms, which had a better year than their arable and dairy counterparts in other parts of the country.
The biggest falls were in the South West and the Home Counties, where registrations dropped by about a quarter compared with 2023. That meant East Anglia overtook the South West as the leading region for tractor registrations during the year.
