Case IH has surprised its competitors by launching its latest Quadtrac and Magnum tractors into the Australian and New Zealand markets featuring Tier 2 engines.
While other manufacturers, including New Holland, will be selling machines equipped with engines that meet the latest Tier 4 Interim standards that apply in the United States (Stage IIIB in Europe), Case IH is taking a step back and swapping the current Tier 3 (Stage IIIA) engines for units that only meet the Tier 2 (Stage II) standard.
The company has taken the step because Australia’s emissions standards are lower than those in North America and Europe. Legislation is expected to be introduced in the Australian parliament in the next year or so bring the country into line with the United States, but rather than pre-empt new regulations, Case IH has opted to offer its customers the lower fuel consumptions that the Tier 2 engines offer.
While manufacturers have been quick to claim fuel saving benefits of about 10 per cent for Tier 4 Interim compared to Tier 3, Case IH says its Tier 2 engines will bring fuel savings of up to 15 per cent to farmers in Australia and New Zealand.
According to Case IH, the engines being supplied to Australasia can easily be re-engineered to meet tighter emissions standards if and when they are introduced, but Tier 2 models will be produced for the region from the company’sUS manufacturing plants at Fargo and Racine for as long as long as local emission standards remained unchanged.
The fact that these latest Tier 2 engines are also claimed to be more advanced and efficient as the Tier 2 engines of the mid 2000s suggests that the Australian and New Zealand Magnums and Quadtracs are actually fitted with the latest Tier 4 Interim engines but without the SCR and EGR systems required to reduce the emissions to meet to meet the lower US standards.
For more information visit: www.caseih.com.
