Cooper to Develop Tyres for Chinese Market

At a special “Pit Stop China” press conference running alongside the A1 Grand Prix in Shanghai at the weekend, Cooper Tire announced that the Cooper brand would shortly be available for the Chinese market. Cooper is the official tyre for the A1 series.

Thomas A. Dattilo, Chairman, President and CEO of Cooper, said he was “excited by the prospect” and added: “China will be very important to our future plans.”

Cooper is designing a line of tyres aimed specifically for the Chinese market and localised testing will be carried out this year, with a full launch c=scheduled for early in 2007. Cooper recently acquired the Shandong Chengshan Tire Co., China’s third-largest tyre manufacturer. The company also has a plant under construction in a joint venture with Kenda Rubber industrial Co. This factory will begin production in the third quarter of this year and annual capacity of radial passenger and light truck tyres will be between 10-12 million units.