Techking Aims for January Launch of Effiplus 'Green' Car Tyre Range

Well-known as an OTR/EM tyre manufacturer, Techking Tires is now seeking to sell a low rolling-resistance passenger car tyre range called Effiplus from January 2010. The Qingdao, China-based tyre manufacturer reports that it has already arranged a substantial off-take agreement with an as-yet unnamed Chinese tyremaker. Marketing manager Ben Zhang refused to reveal exact details of which manufacturer the company would be working with and how many tyres the company is planning to make, but Tyres & Accessories understands it will manufacture with one of China's largest producers. The plan is to sell the tyres direct to wholesalers/dealers in these respective markets, rather than distributing through importers.

While Zhang didn’t explicitly explain the thinking behind this part of the decision, it is likely to be related to the fact that, while the company’s partnerships with local distributors work well with high value items like OTR tyres, margins are slim on low value items such as passenger car tyres – particularly in such a competitive climate for the economy sector. What Zhang did say was that the company is considering offering the right wholesalers brand exclusivity, something that would enable the company and the wholesalers it partners with to share the marketing and business development investment.

Zhang stresses that the company is still researching its wider distribution strategy; the company is currently operating to a five-year plan which pitches the company’s new Effiplus tyres alongside the likes of Kenda, Maxxis and Giti. So far the Techking’s plans are to develop and distribute its current range, while researching the next and simultaneously planning the third generation of its new products – a strategy Zhang calls 1-1-1. Future plans include 20 to 26-inch products, retail POS support and even Techking-brand Services Centres as and when this becomes viable. In the meantime the company is hoping to capitalise on the reportedly fuel efficient nature of its new Effiplus “powered by Techking” brand. Crucially the tyres the company is producing are already s-marked and are said to comply with clean oil requirements.

The passenger Techking Service Centers (TSC) is the logical equivalent of a similar service the company launched for its OTR customers in September 2009. Unveiled at the CITExpo show (also in Shanghai) this part of the TSC concept is described as a training and educational facility. The first TSC was recently inaugurated at the company’s Qingdao, Shandong Province, China headquarters. The first OTR TSC outside of China is scheduled for launch in South Africa.

In the same way that Techking’s first two earthmover TSCs are based on partnership with local distributors, the proposed passenger car TSCs will follow the tried and tested independent partner network model. In the same way that established passenger car tyre brands offer increasing point of sale and marketing support as their partners’ brand sales increase, Techking wants to develop its future passenger car tyre customer base into a mutually beneficial network of independent dealers. At the low end of the scale and dealer partner will receive some posters and hoardings related to the Effiplus or Techking brands, while at the other end of the spectrum, dealers could opt to become what the Chinese would call a “tier one” TCS – a deport that is dominated by Techking branding and colours and looks like a Kwik-Fit, HiQ, ATS Euromaster or First Stop outlet might in the UK.

Having said all that, the company also points out that the finer details of its strategy are subject to continued discussed, with some aspects (such as the TCS concept detailed above) mid-term goals that are expected to take around five years to come to fruition. Perhaps it depends on how much the company can live up to its new “100 per cent efficiency” passenger car tyre strap line.

Related News:

• Techking to Launch Effiplus Passenger Car Tyre Line in 2010

• Techking Introduces Service Centre Concept