NTDA Promotes ‘Cold Weather Tyres’

In the last 12 months Tyres & Accessories has covered the ongoing winter tyre debate in some detail. Now, after the NTDA held a successful seminar alongside January’s Aftermarket Show, the topic is once again the subject of attention. The NTDA organised the seminar in response to demand from members who discussed the subject at the annual conference in Marbella. According to national chairman, Martin Rowlands, the subject of winter tyres was “by far the most popular topic,” along with the three millimetre replacement market and serving female customers.

One thing that has been clear from the beginning is that the adoption of winter tyres would be something of a paradigm shift for the UK market. In its support for such a campaign the NTDA led from the top and the seminar’s title was virtually the last mention of the words ‘winter’ and ‘tyres’ together. By attempting to delete those words from the collective consciousness of its members, the NTDA is hoping that any “winter tyres = snow” preconceptions will melt away. Instead VACO’s Ruud Spujibroek, Continental’s Roger Saunders and NTDA chairman, Martin Rowlands, sought to approach the subject from a number of angles promoting “cold weather tyres” as the way forward.

The VACO story

The most engaging speech came in the form of a testimony. Ruud Spujibroek, secretary of Dutch association VACO, sought to explain that if the Dutch can do it, so can we. As a result of his association’s campaign, Mr Spujibroek has witnessed the Netherlands’ cold weather market increase from 55,000 to 412,000 units. And, as Mr Spuijbroek said, “my country is not very big compared to yours, but we sell more winter tyres than you do!”

VACO does have one or two advantages. For one thing it represents 92.4 per cent of those active in the market and is therefore something like the NTDA, RMA and ITMA all rolled into one. Even so, the introduction of winter tyres to the Dutch market required a concerted effort. Like the NTDA, VACO was also interested in raising the minimum standard for tread depth, and that is where the campaign started. Believing that increasing the frequency of consumer visits a garage is good for everybody, the association mobilised itself by organising a consumer tyre pressure/tread depth awareness programme. Now as a result, the Dutch MOT recommends 2-2.5 millimetres of tread depth as “safe.” The next step was to continue contact with the customer through the introduction of the winter tyre.

“The winter tyre is a solid solution,” Ruud Spujibroek explains, but it is also a process during which VACO “learnt one or two things.” For example, seeing as 48 per cent of car accidents are caused by skidding in winter, it is not unreasonable to assume that companies may be interested in supporting the cause. In fact they gave little or no support. At the beginning leasing companies were similarly indifferent.

Mr Spujibroek continued by describing what are, in his experience, the necessary features of any future programme: Any campaign should last at least two consecutive years. The leadership must provide space for hesitation and enter into a “branch related partnership.” There must be sanctions for free loaders – no-one should be able to benefit from the programme at the cost of more committed members. The campaign must be brand neutral because both consumer and trade customers are much more trusting of a brand neutral approach – the success of the campaign pays dividends for everyone involved in the long term.

In Holland, members only pay as a way securing their commitment. In Holland this costs 1,500 NLG (roughly £400). This price remains the same for the duration of the campaign. Anyone who decides to join part way through has to pay the same amount. According to Mr Spujibroek, this has the effect of ensuring the right level of commitment. The funds raised can then be put forward to for publicising the campaign and advertising dealers that are involved.

One of the key parts of the Dutch strategy was the “if there is an R in the month its time to change tyres” slogan. This phrase has particular significance in the Netherlands and means something quite different in neighbouring Belgium. For the Dutch the slogan is associated with the post-war pro-vitamin campaign and so speaks of the importance of the products as well as providing a useful memory aid promoting at which time to change tyres. In Belgium, on the other hand, the meaning is quite different: If there is an R in the month it means its mussel time! The serious message is that, in exchange for the campaign subscription fee, members receive a campaign box. The promotion kit contains an audio CD with radio adverts used to promote the campaign and music for in-house promotion at dealerships.

In the first year alone VACO spent the equivalent of £200,000. Half of the members who had decided against the programme joined it a year later. As a result of the campaigns that VACO ran, the association now estimates that bodyshops repair 15 per cent fewer prangs. VACO directly associates 10 per cent with the introduction of winter tyres.

Technical developments

Continental technical manager, Roger Saunders opened by stating:” We may not have a lot of snow, but we do have rain,” reiterating the seminar intent to deter associations with snow. And as we all know the temperate British climate is often unpredictable.

Despite significant advances in tyre technology, “it is unreasonable to expect one tyre type will cover a temperature range of +30 – 15 degrees Celcius” added Mr Saunders. And, according to the technical manager, that is why British customers need these products.
Mr Saunders went on to quote a survey which found that a third of people have experienced particularly bad weather conditions while driving and 36 per cent have halted their journey because of this. Bad weather aside, Mr Saunders focused on the fact that at temperatures of seven degrees Celsius and below modern cold-weather tyres are particularly effective. This is because below this temperature molecules in ‘standard’ tyres begin to freeze.

Roger Saunder’s point was further enhanced by his description of how long a tyre is actually touching the road surface. At only 30 mph the contact patch of a tyre only connects for 14/100th of a second. The tyre’s suppleness and ability to “key into” the surface is, therefore, very important. Cold tyres ride about the surface, while winter tyres are more flexible and therefore have more grip. At this stage, sub-zero temperatures and snow and ice were not even in discussion. The principle is said to be just as true at any temperature below seven degrees.

In conclusion, the Continental representative countered another preconception. In his words, contrary to popular belief, winter tyres do last well over the course of the year. And compared to a one-tyre configuration, using the two different types makes little difference in terms of cost. In countries where they have already caught onto the concept, there is even a kind of “peer pressure” encouraging people to have winter tyres fitted, he added.

Commenting on the event, Martin Rowlands said: “Our seminar has acted as a catalyst for the whole of the industry to get together to explore the potential for Winter Tyre sales in the UK. With very few exceptions, everyone at the conference agreed that the industry should make a determined effort to promote the benefits of driving on winter tyres when the temperature goes below seven degrees Celsius.”

In response, the NTDA says it will now set up a small working group to put together ideas for a campaign and discuss how such a campaign could be funded. “We need to have everything in place to ensure that anything we do is a success and, if we can emulate the success of our colleagues in Holland who built there market up to over 12 per cent of their total market we could be looking at a new market of several million tyres in the UK,” added NTDA director, Richard Edy.