As part of the plan, Escorts will acquire 40 per cent stake in Kubota Agricultural Machinery India (KAI), the marketing and sales company of Kubota in India. The existing 60:40 joint venture between Kubota and Escorts, namely Escorts Kubota India (EKI), will continue to operate.

This win-win collaboration will benefit Escorts from product innovation through indigenisation of global R&D, production systems excellence, global supply chain, sales and distribution and act as a global sourcing hub for Kubota. It will also help Kubota with assured supply of cost-effective products in and for India, joint product development for emerging and global markets, and expansion of product range through respective distribution networks.

The partnership creates one of the largest Indo-Japan agriculture collaboration aligned to Indian government?s Make-in-India vision, by integrating technological excellence and frugal innovation to provide the latest farm mechanisation solutions across the globe.

Speaking on the occasion, Nikhil Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, Escorts, said, ?At Escorts, we believe in strategic global partnership with an objective to address global farm mechanisation needs. We are pleased to partner with Kubota to offer farmers with innovative solutions and thereby maximise productivity for profitable growth in domestic and export geographies. This collaboration aims at leveraging R&D strengths of Kubota to offer cutting-edge products for domestic and export markets, serving customers in new markets and new product lines. With our manufacturing expertise and strong domestic distribution combined with collaboration with Kubota, we aim to reach our objective of becoming the market leader in farm mechanisation, and address the food security challenge.?

Yuichi Kitao, President and Representative Director, Kubota, Japan, said, ?We are excited to make strategic investment in Escorts. It is a validation of our mutual commitment to offer best-in-class technology products for global markets and thereby enhance customer experience. Escorts has a strong technology legacy and diversified portfolio in agriculture equipment solutions market and Kubota has proven global technology capabilities. Through this collaboration, we believe that we will cater to India and other growing economies which require high-end technology and new age tractors to address growing demands of highly mechanised farming. Kubota and Escorts, together, with their leadership in respective geographies will consolidate strengths and technology innovation excellence to emerge as a global leader.?