US exports paused, India investments continue: CNH CEO Gerrit Marx

CNH has paused exports of India-made tractors to the US amid high tariffs and weak demand but continues to invest in India, scouting land for a new plant and expanding capacity

Global tractor and construction equipment major CNH has paused exports of India-made tractors to the United States (US) due to high tariffs and weak demand but remains hopeful of a resolution that will allow shipments to resume. Meanwhile, the company will press ahead with its India investments, including scouting for land for a new tractor plant and doubling down on utility tractors, said Gerrit Marx, global chief executive officer (CEO) of CNH

 

“We have enough stock of India-made machines in the US. The North American market is slow anyway and that is also somewhat related to the tariff situation. Given that the market is going slow, and we have a decent level of stock of these machines already in the US, we have just stopped shipping at this point and wait for the real deal (between the two countries) to come up,” said Marx.

 

While speaking to reporters at the Greater Noida plant, he said the company is looking for land for a fourth manufacturing facility in India, which would be its second dedicated to tractors.

 

CNH currently has three manufacturing facilities in India: Greater Noida for New Holland tractors, Pune for harvesters and balers, and Pithampur for CASE construction equipment. Only the Greater Noida plant -- currently being expanded from 60,000 to 70,000 units annually -- makes tractors.

 

He said the 50 per cent tariff is a pause in an ongoing conversation between the two countries that will ultimately reach a different outcome. In 2024, CNH produced about 51,000 tractors in India, of which 14,000 were exported. The US accounted for around 30 per cent of the export shipments.

 

When asked if he was reconsidering the company’s investment plans in India given the tariff situation, Marx replied: “No. Not at all. We are not setting up a second plant in India (just) for exporting to the US. We are doing it because it is the right thing to do. We are doubling down on utility tractors and eventually, depending on the decision we might take, on compact tractors. We are moving towards a capacity to become a more relevant player than we are today”

 

“We have six months’ worth of India-made stocks in the US. Before we run too low on stock levels, we would start shipping to the US, maybe at a loss (if 50 per cent tariff remains), because customers are our first and foremost priority. If that means that for a short period of time, on a certain number of machines, we need to take a loss because of tariffs, then so be it. We are in India for the long term...We hope to see, if not within this year, then by early next year, a trade deal between India and the US,” he stated.

 

“I am very hesitant right now to move production from one place to another because of tariffs that we did not know about eight months ago. Maybe, the tariff will look different eight months from now. It is not a point in time when you take big decisions and play hero for a day. I just hold my line and I am focused and I manage day-to-day,” he noted.

 

He said that the company’s volume share in India’s tractor market was around 5 per cent and the firm targets reaching 10 per cent by 2030.