First LEGO® Ferguson Tractor was more expensive than the real thing

Just like the real thing
Post-World War II Denmark receives monetary and raw‑material aid from the United States under the European recovery program, the Marshall Plan. The program is designed to rebuild European economies. The funding aid enables hard‑pressed Danish farmers to buy new and better equipment. The compact Ferguson tractor is particularly prized by Danish farmers, who quickly swap their horses and oxen for the reliable Fergie tractor.

The change is reflected in the Danish toy market where many products are inspired by social change and technological progress. So, it is a natural step in the early 1950s for the LEGO Group to set up production of a Ferguson tractor in plastic. A range of implements is also available for the new toy tractor, including a cultivator and a plough.  

Difficult task
Developing the Ferguson tractor is a difficult task, and it takes more than a year to manufacture the first model. The cost of producing the technical drawings and molds needed to manufacture the tractor means that the first LEGO tractor off the production line in 1951 costs DKK 30,000. By comparison, a real‑life Ferguson tractor in 1952 costs DKK 9,180. The new product is under pressure to deliver – and at a retail price of DKK 13 each, the product has to sell well to recoup the LEGO Group’s investment. Fortunately, the LEGO Ferguson tractor is a massive and immediate success after the launch in 1951. The tractor, which is on the market until 1959, becomes one of the most popular LEGO products on the market, and is the first great success for the LEGO Group’s plastic‑molding department.

Success breeds success
The runaway success of the LEGO® Ferguson tractor makes a significant contribution to the success of the company’s plastic products and by 1952, the LEGO Group’s plastic products are ringing up higher sales than their wooden counterparts. Part of the profit from the Ferguson tractor and other popular plastic toys is ploughed back into improving product development. In many respects, the success of the Ferguson toy tractor helps drive product development in the direction of what is to become the LEGO Group’s all‑consuming success: the LEGO brick.