Autonomous tractor · head to head
8R Autonomy vs 9RX Autonomy (2nd-gen kit)
Two autonomous tractor machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
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.John Deere · United States
Second-generation autonomy kit on the four-track 9RX — 16-camera, 360° driverless tillage, full US launch in 2026.
Best for: Very large US broadacre operations on the JD platform wanting driverless primary tillage at high horsepower.| 8R Autonomy Verified 2026-07-16 | 9RX Autonomy (2nd-gen kit) Verified 2026-07-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Autonomous tractor | Autonomous tractor |
| Autonomy | Fully autonomous | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | United States | United States |
| Availability | Pilot / limited | Available now |
| EU market | Pending | Pending |
| Lead time | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-16 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Diesel, 410 hp (8R 410) | Diesel; 9RX 640–830 hp models |
| Required tractor power | Is the tractor (up to 410 hp) | Is the tractor (up to 830 hp) |
| Dimensions | Standard 8R chassis | Standard 9RX four-track chassis |
| Weight | ~15,000 kg | Not disclosed for autonomy configuration |
| Min farm size | 400 ha | 500 ha |
| Productivity | Field-dependent; 24 h duty capable | Field-dependent; 24 h duty capable; faster and wider than gen-1 kit |
| Max speed | 42 km/h (road) | Field-work speeds; road transport driven manually |
| Sensors | 6 stereo camera pairs · 360° obstacle detection | 16 cameras in pods · 360° vision · improved long-range depth calculation |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Native price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Subscription autonomy on owned/leased 8R (US pilot) | Kit purchase on owned/leased 9RX; licensing/subscription terms not publicly disclosed |
| Ongoing cost | Not disclosed — subscription, region-dependent | Not disclosed |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Operator supervision 1 supervisor/several · vendor | Operator supervision Remote supervision via Operations Center Mobile · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | Not filed for EU autonomous operation | Not filed for EU autonomous operation |
| Machinery Regulation | EU autonomous approval not yet in place | No EU approval — John Deere states EU safety rules currently prevent autonomous-tractor launch |
| CAP subsidy | Not applicable pending EU availability | Not applicable — not purchasable in the EU |
"—" 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.