John Deere partners with a Battery-electrified Product Manufacturer

This is interesting. John Deere a manufacturer of gasoline driven equipment is partnering with an international company owned by Chevron and is based in Nanjing China. EGO is led by CEO Long Quan Pan (title: Chairman/CEO/Executive Director/Co-Founder, Chervon Holdings Ltd.).

My initial thought was, why doesn’t John Deere buy EGO out right making it a division of it. I suspect the opposite will happen as John Deere has an extensive distribution system which EGO does not have. John Deere is also a premium brand and has a well-known name going back almost 200 years. I suspect John Deere will be acquired by Chevron also.

For lawn cutting? I would go with EXmark which is owned by Toro since 1997. For a gasoline engine, the Kawasaki twin cylinder is heads-up better than the competition. EXmark does have an expensive electric powered equipment also. It is probably built like a tank the same as its gasoline models. I digress . . .

John Deere signs partnership to sell EGO battery-electric products, electrek.co, Scooter Doll

John Deere announcing a new partnership with EGO enables the sale of battery-electric products across the Deere’s network of dealers. The vice president of John Deere’s turf and compact utility business, David Thorne spoke to the new deal with EGO:

“Simplifying the landscape management of properties is what drives us every day. We seek to provide our customers with a broad range of tools, which will now include a battery ecosystem that can be extended into a variety of property care solutions. Partnering with a leading electric solutions brand, like EGO, to provide top-quality battery-powered equipment will propel both John Deere and Chervon into a stronger market position to serve our evolving customers.”

Having expanded availability is a huge win for consumers and for the environment, as we’d like to hope more Deere customers go electric – at least with smaller equipment like mowers, weed whackers, etc. That being said, this is an interesting business decision by John Deere who keeps saying it’s developing its own electric products. Very few have yet to reach the market, however.

EGO, on the other hand, is already selling tons of products in over 100 countries and is arguably the number-one rated brand in battery-powered outdoor equipment . . . a brand title for which John Deere would be working around the clock to snag.

According to a spokesperson for John Deere, EGO’s products will be available across its dealer network in the US and Canada beginning this fall. The company is also discussing the possibility of developing future equipment together. Until then, keep an eye out for EGO products at your local John Deere dealer.

Electrek’s Take

If you can’t beat ’em, join em’ . . . or help ’em sell ’em?

By signing this partnership, I’d argue that John Deere is admitting it’s behind on electrification. It may very well be working tirelessly behind the scenes to get there, but it’s clearly not where it wants to be. Hence why the company just agreed to sell the products of a major competitor, arguably the best in the segment right now and most certainly the most popular.

My family uses a bunch of EGO products and they’re fantastic, in addition to being emissions-free. There’s no going back after them and I’m sure plenty of other people feel the same way. So what happens when someone goes to John Deere for a zero turn mower and picks the EGO version because it’s already available and highly rated? Do they abandon the Deere brand? Unlikely, but possible.

Also, back to the mowers, is John Deere going to try to sell its upcoming electric zero-turn mower  alongside EGO’s? The fact that EGO has three different versions that are all already on the market shows how far ahead of John Deere the company already is in terms of electrification.

As I said before, this news is worth noting because it’s a win for electrification and alluring more consumers to give it a try. It’s also a win for EGO, which gains access to a huge, respected network in the industry. I guess it’s a win for John Deere in the sense that it will get some portion of sales made through its network, but I’m sure it would rather be taking 100% of those sales from loyal customers buying its own electric products. I could see John Deere eventually trying to flat out buy EGO too.

Better get moving guys, before the kids start riding around the yard on a toy mower from EGO instead of John Deere.

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