CNH ends its Kobelco alliance

CNH ends its Kobelco alliance CNH and Kobelco Construction Machinery are scrapping their construction machinery manufacturing alliance. CNH, part of the Fiat empire, felt that the alliance restricted its ability to exploit market growth in fast-growing Asian markets. All geographic exclusivity rights are being dropped and new, non-exclusive licensing and supply agreements take effect this week. CNH will continue to manufacture hydraulic excavators incorporating current Kobelco technology at its factories in the USA, Italy and Brazil and will continue to source select models, including short-radius excavators, from Kobelco in Japan for no less than five years and component parts no less than 10 years. From now on, CNH will market full-sized excavators featuring Kobelco technology under its New Holland Construction brand and compact excavators under its New Holland Construction and Case Construction Equipment brands. “This change in our relationship gives CNH Construction Equipment the opportunity to build a stronger future for our customers, dealers and overall business,” said Mario Gasparri, head of CNH’s Construction Equipment brands. “This change is vital because it lets us directly manage our business in all regions around the globe, including the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to the world’s fastest-growing construction equipment markets. More than that, it allows us to leverage the industry-leading technologies and resources available to us as part of CNH Global and Fiat Industrial to better address customer needs.”