AgBot W3-2 Series vs Steward
Two autonomous tractor machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
AgXeed's compact wheeled AgBot for permanent row crops — a 75 hp diesel-electric autonomous platform built for orchards, vineyards and tree nurseries, distinct from the larger arable-focused AgBot 2.055W4 (wheeled, 156 hp, id agxeed-agbot) and AgBot T2-7 (tracked, 230 hp, id agxeed-t2-7) already listed on this site. AgXeed states "proven running hours in apple and pear production"; no public press release, world-record trial or independent test data was found for this specific model (unlike the T2-7), so its commercial footprint reads smaller/quieter than its siblings.
Best for: Orchard, vineyard and tree-nursery growers (apples and pears named specifically) needing a compact, low-weight autonomous platform for spraying, flail mowing and soil preparation between permanent rows without soil compaction.US aftermarket kit (proprietary control unit + dual-GNSS + cameras/obstacle sensors) that converts existing 80-150hp tractors — John Deere 5E/5M/6E, Kubota M5 and Fendt 700-series (Deutz-Fahr in development) — into autonomous units for mowing, seeding, tillage, rolling, hay cutting and (via a Verdant Robotics partnership) precision spray. Installed in roughly a day (press reports range from a few hours to two days) with a five-minute calibration; sold through Trimble's Vantage dealer network in the US and Canada, with roughly 300 systems operational as of mid-2026. A July 2026 oversubscribed Series B led by Leaps by Bayer, with Yara participating, is funding expansion.
Best for: US/Canadian row-crop, broad-acre and sod/turf operations with an existing fleet of compatible 80-150hp tractors who want autonomy without buying new large-horsepower machines — Sabanto pitches "gangs" of several sub-150hp tractors as a lower-capital alternative to one big autonomous unit.| AgBot W3-2 Series Verified 2026-07-19 | Steward Verified 2026-07-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Autonomous tractor | Autonomous tractor |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | Netherlands | United States |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-19 | 2026-07-18 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Diesel-electric, 55 kW / 75 hp (2.9 l 4-stroke Deutz Diesel engine, Stage V, max. torque 300 Nm) driving an electric drivetrain | Retrofit kit powered by the host tractor's own diesel powertrain — no dedicated power source of its own |
| Required tractor power | Is the tractor (75 hp / 55 kW equivalent); wheeled, no cab | Aftermarket retrofit centred on 80-150hp tractors; compatible models include John Deere 5E (5075E, 5085E, 5090E, 5100E), 5M (5090M, 5095M, 5100M, 5105M, 5115M, 5120M, 5130M) and 6E (6105E, 6120E, 6135E cab-only) series, Kubota M5 (M5-091, M5-111), and Fendt 700-series (model year 2022+); Deutz-Fahr support is in development. Requires an electronic shuttle (PowrReverser) and factory grill guard on the host tractor |
| Dimensions | Length 3.85 m; height 1.50 m; wheelbase 2.40 m; width from 1.38 m (min. transport width, 400 mm rear tyres) to 2.02 m (710 mm rear tyres); front wheel fixed at 710 mm, rear wheel options 380/400/520/710 mm | Not disclosed |
| Weight | 2.8 t empty | Not disclosed |
| Min farm size | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Productivity | Not disclosed as a ha/day figure; brochure gives per-implement rates — orchard sprayer (2,000 l, PWM valves) at 8 km/h; 180 cm flail mower at 4-6 km/h | Roughly 300 systems operational across North America as of mid-2026 (Farmers Weekly); one large customer runs 25 units simultaneously (AgFunderNews); sod-farm customer Super-Sod runs 11 units across the southeastern US (Trimble customer story) |
| Max speed | 0-13.5 km/h (electric drivetrain) | Up to 13 km/h in autonomous mode |
| Sensors | Roof-mounted LiDAR; ultrasonic and radar sensors integrated into a contact-sensitive safety bumper; geofence system; visual indicator lights and audible alarm; emergency-stop buttons around the machine; RTK GNSS positioning accurate to ±2.5 cm | Trimble BX992 dual-GNSS receiver for heading determination with Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction — sub-4cm guidance accuracy maintained under partial tree canopy; cameras and obstacle-detection sensors; onboard AI processing unit; cellular connection to the cloud |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | ≈€55,000 upfront, ≈€8,500/yr (indicative conversion — no direct EU pricing published) |
| Native price | Not disclosed | US$65,000 equipment + installation, plus a US$10,000 annual subscription (Farmers Weekly-reported dealer pricing, 2026) |
| Business model | Buy only, price on request — AgXeed does not publish list pricing for the W3-2 on its own site. Sales are handled directly by AgXeed's regional team (including a named orchard/tree-nursery specialist) or via a requested dealer field demo; no country-specific W3-2 distributor was found (unlike the AgBot T2-7's UK distributor SoilEssentials). | Buy the retrofit kit outright through Sabanto's dealer network (Trimble Vantage dealers in the US/Canada, e.g. Vanderloop Equipment for Fendt); requires a mandatory annual subscription for guidance/software |
| Ongoing cost | Not disclosed for the W3-2 series specifically — no published service-cost figures found | US$10,000/year subscription covering guidance service and software updates (Farmers Weekly-reported dealer pricing); individual low-cost sensors can disable the system if damaged ("it only takes one US$20 sensor to put a tractor out of action" — Farmers Weekly) |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | — No verified outcome | Equipment capital investment (single-farm case study — Quint Pottinger, Kentucky) approximately 70% reduction in equipment capital investment · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | AgXeed's FAQ states every AgBot "will be delivered together with an EC Declaration of Conformity... [and] all machines are fitted with a CE mark" — a range-wide claim, but no W3-2-specific certificate was found | Not disclosed — no CE-marking evidence found; confirmed deployments are US/Canada only |
| Machinery Regulation | AgXeed's FAQ states its AgBots "comply with the most relevant EU regulations" (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230); geofence-bounded supervised autonomy is documented for the W3-2 specifically | Not applicable — no evidence Steward has been placed on the EU market |
| CAP subsidy | Eligible; several EU states fund autonomy pilots | Not applicable — no EU/CAP-linked deployment found |
"—" 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.