The slogan in the title is also the slogan of the importer of Chinese tractors Changfa in Ukraine. Our neighbors have just hit the market with a new, powerful Chinese tractor from an unknown brand. Will it become popular? Do Ukrainians not mind the fact that the tractor comes from a country that still cooperates with Russia?
The second slogan of Agsolco Ukraine, an importer of Chinese tractors to the local market, is: “Can a Chinese tractor be functional? Yes, if it is Chinese premium.” So what kind of tractor is this, how much does it cost and will it be available in Poland?
Changfa is a big player in the Chinese market
Let’s start with the Changfa brand, which is completely unknown in Poland. It’s no wonder, because this manufacturer’s offer, despite the presence of several series of tractors with Yuchai engines known in Europe, does not include machines that meet the Stage V standard. Therefore, such equipment is unwelcome in the EU and will probably not appear anytime soon.
Agricultural products in the Changfa Group concern are produced by Jiangsu Changfa Agricultural Equipment Co., Ltd. The history of the company described on the websites of the entire group begins in 1988 with the establishment of the Jian Dong wooden furniture factory in Lijia by Huang Xiaoping. In 1996, the company changes its name to Changzhou Changfa and starts machine production. Then the names and product groups were changed several times. Currently, Changfa Group is a large industrial conglomerate mainly engaged in the real estate industry and the production of agricultural machinery and refrigeration equipment. The headquarters is located in Wujin, Changzhou city.
The corporation employs over 10,000. employees, including over 1.5 thousand technicians and 200 experienced engineers. Approx. 10 percent all products are exported to over 60 countries in America, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Europe is mentioned on the group’s website, but on the subpage of the company producing agricultural equipment there is no mention of exports to our regions.
From tractors to combines and power generators
The Changfa brand’s offer includes agricultural tractors, combine harvesters, rice harvesters, power generators, and combustion engines. Smaller machines use drives of their own design, larger ones use the experience of Yuchai.
Motorcycles with the Yuchai badge are not just anything, because this brand is one of the most important players on the Chinese market. The company belongs to Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co. Ltd, which offers drives for excavators, loaders, agricultural tractors, trucks, buses, boats, ships and power generators. The group employs 23,000. employees. In Poland, Yuchai engines are known, among others, from Fotrak tractors imported to the country by Krawiec Traktor, and at Agritechnica 2023 they could be seen under the hood of FM World and Deutz-Fahr tractors intended for the Chinese market.
Agricultural tractors offered by Changfa are series from A to L with power ranging from 26 to 260 HP. There is no information about the most powerful series on the website yet, so the K and L tractors are probably new and just entering the market. Tractors with Yuchai engines start at approximately 90 HP. We will not focus on all series of tractors with the Changfa logo, because it is not the most important. In general, the tractors are similar to their brothers from YTO, Fotrak, Maxus or FM World. There’s nothing here that we don’t know.
Changfa enters the Ukrainian market
The first copy of the CFJ2204 model has already been shown in Ukraine, and CFF1104 machines with a power of 110 HP have been known on the local market since 2022. The more powerful tractor belongs to the J series, which supports power from 180 to 220 HP. According to the manufacturer, the tractor has a comfortable cabin with nice carpeting, an MP3 player and air conditioning. This is what the Chinese write about him. And what do Ukrainians say about this?
Our neighbors are more specific. The capacity of the 6-cylinder Yuchai YCA07260-T305 engine is 6.5 l, the maximum torque is 810 Nm, and the fuel consumption is up to 245 g*kW/h. Of course, the exhaust emission standard is Stage III, because in Ukraine there are no regulations as restrictive as in our country. Yuchai offers Stage V engines, but they are much more expensive. According to the manufacturer, Yuchai engines were developed with the help of engineers from the German company FEV, which has had a branch in China since the 1990s. Common Rail injection is Bosch technology.
In the basic version, the tractor is equipped with a 32×32 mechanical transmission (a 16×16 version is also available on the Chinese market). As standard, J series tractors are equipped with tires 420/85R28 (front) and 520/85R38 (rear), and the rear axle has a function of gradual wheel track adjustment, which can range from 1640-2170 mm (basic width 1800 mm). The front wheel track can be gradually adjusted in the range of 1610/1700/1770/1800 (basic width) / 1940/2010/2150/2200 mm. The wheelbase is 2825 mm.
In addition, the vehicle weighs 7.8 tons and the rear lift can lift 5.8 tons. In the basic configuration, the equipment is equipped with an electronic hydraulic control system from Bosch Rexroth. The warranty on the Ukrainian market is 2 years or 1000 mth.
How much does a powerful Chinese tractor cost?
The CFJ2204 model costs less than UAH 3 million, and is also priced at PLN 75,000. dollars. This means that the tractor is worth approximately PLN 300,000 in Polish zlotys. zloty. Tractors with a power of approximately 90 – 120 HP cost the same in Poland, depending on the manufacturer.
The tractors are scheduled to appear in Ukraine in May. The first two customers who buy this tractor in 2024 will receive the Changfa Autopilot navigation system from the importer. Agsolco Ukraine’s offer will also include Changfa J series with a power of 180 and 200 HP. The offer also includes F series tractors with a power of 110 HP.
For comparison, similar money to the Changfa with a power of 220 HP should be spent on a YTO 1954 tractor with a power of 195 HP, equipped with 18×6 gears and a Shanghai Power engine. From the offer of more reputable companies, a similar one will be the Landini TL 7-Series with a power of 220 HP, which also does not meet Stage V standards and costs in Ukraine more than twice as much as Changfa.
In addition to Changfa and YTO, the Ukrainian market also includes other brands from China, such as Zoomlion and Kata. Do Ukrainians mind that China supports Russia? I guess it doesn’t matter at all, which may be surprising.