UK tractor registrations fall to all-time low in 2025
16th January 2026
UK agricultural tractor registrations fell to their lowest level on record in 2025 and are likely the lowest since before the Second World War, the Agricultural Engineers Association has confirmed.
The number of agricultural tractors (over 50hp) being registered remained low in December, with just 541 machines recorded during the month. This is the lowest number for the time of year since 2016.
That total was more than 30% lower than in the same month of 2024 and was also down by a quarter compared with the average December figure over the previous five years, AEA said.
That is similar to the shortfall, relative to the recent mean, across the year as a whole. The association explained that the tractor market remains at a low ebb due to a lack of confidence in the farming sector, prompted by factors including uncertainty about future agricultural and tax policy, challenging weather conditions, increased costs and weak prices for some commodities, notably arable crops.
The AEA has explained how trends vary between different power bands and parts of the country.
Almost all power bands saw a decline in registrations between 2024 and 2025, but the biggest falls were at the top end of the power range.
The number of tractors over 240hp registered last year was down by nearly a third compared with the year before, reflecting the challenging financial position of arable farmers, who are the main buyers of these larger machines.
Below that level, the decline was a more modest 11%. Nevertheless, the 11% share of the total accounted for by machines over 240hp was still higher than in any year before 2024.
The decline in the number of the largest machines meant that the average power of tractors registered during 2025 was lower than the year before for the first time since 2021.
It fell from just under 180hp in 2024 to 173hp a year later, which is also slightly below the level recorded in 2023 but is higher than in all previous years. As a result, the total power of tractors registered during the year fell to a 24-year low of 1.52 million hp.
UK agricultural tractor registrations by region in 2025
The association confirmed that the number of tractors registered in 2025 was lower than the year before across most of the country, although the South West of England was an exception.
“Slightly more machines were logged there than in 2024, but numbers were down everywhere else. That perhaps reflects the better fortunes of the dairy sector, which makes up a sizeable proportion of agriculture in that region.
“The South East of England and Northern Ireland also saw relatively small declines but the rest of the country recorded year-on-year falls of at least 10%.
“Yorkshire, the East Midlands and North Wales were the worst affected regions, with less than three-quarters as many registrations as in 2024,” a spokesperson for EAE added.
Read more farm business news.
