Nankang Winter Sales Grow 10-Fold

Nankang’s European winter tyre sales have grown to 10 times the size they were in 2003, the Taiwanese company has reported. According to company representatives, Nankang expects to move some 400,000 units of winter tyres, across Europe, this season.
This is something, the company, which was reportedly the first Taiwanese company to produce snow tyres, is understandably proud of. The historically high target is set against previous records of 80,000 tyres in 2004 and 40,000 units in 2003.

According to the company, this growth is made mainly due to the continuing efforts it has made to develop its business in the major markets. Not to mention the introduction of new pattern designs – the SV-1 and SW-5 being examples that are intended to appeal to a broad range of customers. Nankang is also said to be the first company in Taiwan to supply both stud-less and studable snow tyres for different weather conditions across the whole of Europe.

In order to ensure best performance and safety, Nankang always sends a team of technicians to Japan for strict field-testing during the development stage, company representatives say. In addition the manufacturer aims to get the first-hand experience from local users by carrying out “massive road tests in Germany and the Nordic countries before the snow tyres are sold to the market.”

In the future, Nankang plans to continue expanding its winter tyre business in Europe hoping to reach 500,000 units of sales in 2006. Nankang will also begin using its “Ha-oil free” compound from 2005 in winter tyre production as a way of making a positive contribution to the environment, the company says.