Perennial tractor sales chart-topper John Deere continues to outsell its rival brands in the UK, but its grip on the market is loosening, according to the most recent data released by the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA).

As usual, the EU’s seemingly arbitrary competition rules mean the figures can only be made public 12 months after they are collated, so the ones published refer to 2020’s sales.

Deere has held the top spot in the UK for more than two decades, but has seen its domination wane by almost 5.5% in just a couple of years.

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And in the manufacturer standings, it actually relinquished top spot to CNH Industrial – owner of New Holland and Case IH.

That said, the 2020 figures were skewed by Covid-related carnage, with factory closures, supply chain glitches and delivery problems leaving manufacturers heavily reliant on whatever existing stock they had available. As a result, new tractor registrations tumbled from 12,040 in 2019 to 10,380 in 2020.

Most of the year-on-year decline took place between April and July, when supply chains were creaking particularly badly. For the final five months of the year, registrations were actually 11% higher than in 2019.

The market has continued to bounce back, with the 11,935 units registered in 2021 representing a 15.8% rise on 2020 and putting it level with the three years before.