Autonomous tractor · head to head
OutRun retrofit autonomy kit vs 8R Autonomy
Two autonomous tractor machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
PTx (AGCO) · United States
Self-contained retrofit kit that makes an existing tractor drive itself — autonomous grain cart today, tillage rolling out, Fendt support landing 2026.
Best for: US grain operations that want to drop the grain-cart driver at harvest without buying a new tractor.John Deere · United States
Autonomy retrofit for the 8R tractor — supervised driverless tillage at scale. Deere's flagship autonomy moved to the second-generation kit on the 9RX at CES 2025; the second-gen kit retrofits MY2020.5+ 8R/8RX.
Best for: Very large arable operations already standardised on John Deere and Operations Center.| OutRun retrofit autonomy kit Verified 2026-07-16 | 8R Autonomy Verified 2026-07-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Autonomous tractor | Autonomous tractor |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United States | United States |
| Availability | Available now | Pilot / limited |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-16 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Uses host tractor's diesel engine | Diesel, 410 hp (8R 410) |
| Required tractor power | Host tractor — John Deere 8R (2014+) with IVT; Fendt 900 now, 1000 series fall 2026 | Is the tractor (up to 410 hp) |
| Dimensions | Retrofit kit on standard tractor chassis | Standard 8R chassis |
| Weight | Not disclosed | ~15,000 kg |
| Min farm size | 400 ha | 400 ha |
| Productivity | Grain cart cycles on demand during harvest; tillage with no-till/slow/no-go zones | Field-dependent; 24 h duty capable |
| Max speed | Field speeds; per host tractor | 42 km/h (road) |
| Sensors | Obstacle-detection sensor suite · automatic stop · virtual boundary enforcement | 6 stereo camera pairs · 360° obstacle detection |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | One-time hardware purchase + annual service fee — no per-acre or hourly charges | Subscription autonomy on owned/leased 8R (US pilot) |
| Ongoing cost | Annual service fee (amount not disclosed) | Not disclosed — subscription, region-dependent |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Grain-cart driver at harvest Combine operator calls the cart via iPad · vendor | Operator supervision 1 supervisor/several · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not CE marked for EU autonomous operation | Not filed for EU autonomous operation |
| Machinery Regulation | No EU conformity claimed — product marketed for North America | EU autonomous approval not yet in place |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable — not purchasable in the EU | Not applicable pending EU availability |
"—" means the manufacturer has not disclosed the figure; we never estimate silently. Model either machine's payback with your own numbers on its ROI calculator page.