It was September 27, 2012, in Marktoberdorf, Germany when executives at AGCO’s Fendt brand gave the world its first official look at their all-new tractor series, the 500 Vario, which offered bigger-than-expected horsepower crammed into a small chassis. During the official launch ceremony a band played as the door at the end of the factory assembly line opened and a 516 Vario model drove out into the centre of an applauding, admiring crowd.
That ceremony was blended with the grand opening of Fendt’s updated and expanded tractor assembly plant in that small Bavarian city. The new plant provided the capacity to boost production levels from about 14,000 tractors per year to around 21,000, which surpassed the then-existing level of demand and gave the company room to grow production to meet potential future sales volumes.
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It was the height of the commodity price boom, so things were still looking pretty rosy in the new equipment market.
It meant company executives had a lot to talk about that day with their invited guests, which included several members of the farm media. Most of those guests and reporters were from Europe, where the 500 Vario tractors were about to start landing on dealer lots, and there were only three of us who represented North American ag publications.
We were there at AGCO’s invitation, but executives acknowledged that the Fendt brand was then still a minor player in the Canadian and U.S. market. Nevertheless, their North American marketing rep said the company saw potential to grow the brand here. The 500 Varios, we three North American writers were told, would play a key role in that expansion, just not right away.
Before the 500s could land on Canadian and U.S. shores, engineers had more work to do. Basically, a second version of the tractors had to be designed and built to meet North American engineering standards, which are significantly different than those in Europe. And that would take a bit of time.
Fast-forward to August of this year and AGCO used the U.S. Farm Progress Show in Illinois as the venue to finally announce the arrival of the four-model, 125- to 165-horsepower 500s in North America.
So was this year’s North American introduction a case of better late than never, or was it impeccable timing? Given that competing brands have been busy introducing similar tractors with compact chassis and ample horsepower, all designed to cash in on the strong, specific demands of mixed farming operations, you could argue the latter.
Tractors like that which offer higher horsepower in a manoeuvrable, compact package and bring down high-end features from their more powerful brothers have been the showpieces at manufacturers’ product launches all summer. That is exactly what the 500 Series is: high-spec models whose horsepower range overlaps that of the larger-framed 700 Series.
“The Fendt 500 is versatile enough for a wide range of applications work, from light chores to field work,” said Josh Keeney, AGCO Fendt tactical marketing manager, in a press release. “It’s an efficient tractor that provides unrivalled competitive advantages from a tractor of its size.”
Fendt is AGCO’s premium tractor brand, offering high-end features. So not surprisingly the CargoProfi loaders built to bolt onto the 500 Series are high end too, including features like hydraulic lift-height pre-set controls that allow the operator to bring the bucket up to a pre-set position with the push of a button. And the loader has a built-in load-sensing feature, giving the operator a readout of the amount of weight in the bucket. That could be handy if you are mixing feed rations. The loader functions are integrated into the tractor’s Varioterminal monitor.
Inside the VisioPlus cab operators get a pretty comfortable work environment. The cab itself comes with a standard pneumatic self-levelling suspension to smoothe out the ride. Brand literature calls the cab interior “spacious” and “revolutionary.” That last description may be a bit over the top, but the cab is nice.
Now with the addition of the 500 Vario Series, the other green brand offers tractor options through the main 125- to 390-horsepower range, but it still lacks a competitor in the high-horsepower category. However, the 500-horsepower 1000 Series introduced in Germany last year is expected to eventually arrive here as well and fill that gap.
