Yanmar presents its YV01 vineyard robot to Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Netherlands during the Franco-Dutch Meetings in Toulouse

Épernay, 10 October 2025 — Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands paid a working visit to Occitanie on Wednesday, 1 October as part of the Franco-Dutch Economic Year. This initiative, launched following President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the Netherlands in April 2023, aims to strengthen economic exchanges, cross-investment, and innovative partnerships between the two countries.

At the heart of this visit, focused on the Bilateral Pact for Innovation and Sustainable Growth, Their Majesties travelled to Toulouse, the European capital of aeronautics and high technology, to participate in the Franco-Dutch Meetings, an event dedicated to the development of cooperation in strategic sectors such as aeronautics, energy transition, and agri-food technologies.

As part of this event, the royal couple visited the Domaine de Candie, where the AgroTech-HortiTech meeting titled “The Autonomous, Resilient Farming” was held, dedicated to agricultural robotics and autonomous solutions for sustainable agriculture.

On this occasion, YANMAR VINEYARD SOLUTIONS had the honour of presenting its YV01 vineyard robot, a new-generation autonomous crawler designed to meet the specific needs of modern viticulture and embody European excellence in sustainable innovation and vineyard robotics. Welcomed by Dr Samir Laoukili, President of Yanmar Europe, and Mr Geert Jan Mantel, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Yanmar Europe B.V. and Managing Director of Yanmar B.V., Their Majesties attended a comprehensive presentation of the YV01, followed by a demonstration of its operation. This meeting highlighted the progress made by Yanmar in developing technological solutions for more efficient, environmentally friendly, and forward-looking viticulture.

Dr Samir Laoukili said after the presentation

We were honoured to discuss YANMAR and our commitments to France with Their Majesties the Royal Couple and to demonstrate our leadership in innovative technologies through the presentation of the YV01 in their presence.

The demonstration of the YV01 is in line with the spirit of innovation promoted by the Franco-Dutch Pact for Sustainable Growth. It illustrates Yanmar’s commitment to supporting professionals in the wine sector in their transition to more responsible agricultural practices, while maintaining a high level of productivity.

This royal visit to Toulouse symbolises the vitality of cooperation between France and the Netherlands in the fields of innovation, research and industrial development, and underlines Yanmar’s leading role in Europe in deploying sustainable technological solutions for the agriculture of the future.