Diesel engines boast the highest thermal efficiency of any practical internal combustion engine, and due to their outstanding performance, they have been widely used since the early 20th century. However, for diesel engines to be successfully mounted onto machinery worldwide and drive industrial growth, they must be highly versatile and flexibly cater to different sizes, fuel types, and outputs. They must also be durable and able to function in challenging conditions such as on inclines, and boast outstanding startability to ensure they can be used when needed. It is also important that they are sold at affordable price points. And so, the biggest challenge for any diesel engine manufacturer is to examine how to provide the ideal engines for every user.

In the 1970s, mowers and the majority of compact construction machinery in North America used gasoline engines. Kubota thus switched these gasoline engines out for its compact diesel engines, which were then being used on its tractors. The market’s reaction was significant, and the gasoline engines that were conventionally installed in industrial machinery in North America were quickly replaced with diesel engines. As a result, Kubota established a strong presence in the North American market.

That said, replacing gasoline engines with diesel engines was not simple. High-mix low-volume manufacturing was essential in order to cater to users’ ever diversifying needs. Under a new One Source, Multiple Solutions philosophy, Kubota established a flexible lineup of engines that could run on multiple fuel types—diesel, gasoline, natural gas, and LPG^*1—with an unrivalled range of models, ensuring that they could be used for a wide variety of applications. As of 2021, Kubota boasted an overwhelming variety of engines with approximately 3,000 types in its lineup. Not only were these engines installed in Kubota products, but the company also became an OEM^*2 and supplied its engines to other manufacturers. This is how Kubota’s engines came to be widely used throughout society.

Today, Kubota continues to receive wide acclaim and earn the trust of its customers as the world’s leading manufacturer of sub-100 HP diesel engines. While these engines are being used as an essential element of industrial machinery in various regions, engine requirements are becoming increasingly diverse. In North America, for example, powerful engines are a must for large-scale farms with huge amounts of land. In response, Kubota has developed a large 200 HP diesel engine and released it to the North American market. It is also moving forward with the development of a 300 HP diesel engine, aiming for mass production in 2023. Kubota’s next target is to become the world’s leading manufacturer of sub-300 HP diesel engines. Achieving this target, however, is nothing more than a waypoint toward its ultimate mission: to continue creating ideal engines of the future and responding to new engines needs to support global industries.