The tractor, which comes with special features like synchronised gear box,high-capacity hydraulics, dual clutch facilities and a 3-cylinder enginewill be launched simultaneously in the South as well as in Maharashtra andPunjab, a company official told The Financial Express here.

The tractor also has a provision to attach dozer and backhoe at the back endand compressors to serve as a prime mover for combined harvestors, apartfrom being suitable for farmers, contractors, earth works, deep ploughing,industrial applications and also for replacement market, he maintained.

The 60 hp tractor will, for the first time, use transmission systems(gearbox and differential) and axles from Carraro SpA of Italy to take onNew Holland and Tafe, sources said, adding the normal version will carry aprice tag of Rs 4,26,000 and with dozer and backhoe, it will be priced at Rs8.5 lakh, the official said. The versatile tractor is also fitted with 12forward and 12 reverse gear speeds, as against normal eight and tworespectively to reverse the tractor faster and help in levelling workcompletely, the sources claimed.

Despite the slowdown in economy and industrial production, the companyexpects this high horse power tractor to find potential in the south, whichis known for dry and hard land and Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and UPare the markets with huge potential considering farmers in these states havehuge holdings. The company is expected to sell 1,200 tractors in the firstyear. For the period ended April-November 2000, Escorts has posted anegative growth by selling 24,500 (including Farmtrac tractors) units ascompared to 30,175 units for the same period last fiscal, a fall of 18.9 percent.