Made In India Tractor Is Really An Old IH

Made in India Tractor is Really an Old IH TRACTORS New Tractors 11-2-3 It didn't take long for showgoers at the recent National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kent., to figure out that the "made in India" tractors on exhibit there - sold under the name Mahindra - were really just old-style International Harvester models. According to importer Chuck Wilkerson, who's setting up a nationwide dealer network for the low-priced tractor, Mahindra made tractors for IH in India right up to the time IH was bought out by Case. Once the merger occurred, the smaller models in the IH line were no longer required. Mahindra decided to market the models in the U.S. and Canada under its own name. Three models are available at 35, 45 and 50 hp. They correspond, respectively, to IH models B-275, 444, and 544. All parts are 100% interchangeable with IH parts. In fact, Mahindra still makes the replacement parts for those IH models for Case/IH. "Many farmers are surprised to discover the tractors they thought were made in the U.S. or England were actually made in India. Sometimes the parts were made there and assembled here," says Wilkerson. "The tractors generally sell for about 40% less than similar size competing models." The 35 hp. model sells for $7,500, the 45 hp. for $7,700, and the 50 hp. for $8,200. "They don't make tractors like these any, more. They're built extremely heavy throughout with all the features found on the original IH tractor models," Wilkerson told FARM SHOW. For more information, contact: FARM-SHOW Followup, Mahindra Equipment Corp., 1416 East North Belt, Suite 160, Houston, Tex. 77032 (713 449-5700).

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