Winter tyre sales enjoying strong growth – ATS Euromaster
An ATS Euromaster compares the heavily siped tread pattern on a winter tyre (l) with that of its summer counterpart
Since the beginning of November ATS Euromaster has seen sales of winter tyres increase seven-fold, and the company expresses confidence that the number of cold weather fitments will continue rising now the winter has properly begun. It expects total cold weather tyre sales to exceed £10 million in 2013.
Demand for winter rubber on cars and vans saw ATS Euromaster’s cold weather tyre sales increase by 14 per cent in 2012 compared with the previous year, and the tyre retailer says it expects further double-digit growth this year. Peter Fairlie, ATS Euromaster’s group sales director, puts this growing interest down to more businesses seeing the benefits of fitting seasonal tyres in response to the growing trend for prolonged periods of freezing temperatures, ice and snowfall in the UK.
“Temperatures plummeted in November and the gritters have been kept busy on our roads, but we’ve not seen any widespread snowfall yet,” he comments. “Despite this, a number of prominent long range forecasters are reporting that this winter could set new records and are advising people to be prepared.”
A large share of ATS Euromaster’s cold weather tyre stock is allocated to fleets that pre-ordered their tyres to guarantee supply, but the nationwide fast-fitter says it still has winter fitments available in the majority of common car and van sizes, and with a choice of premium, mid-range and budget brands.
“Our teams work closely with fleet managers to make the changeover as quick as possible, planning ahead to ensure their vehicles are fully prepared for the wintry conditions,” adds Fairlie. “Customers can swap tyres at any of our centres, plus we have the resource of the largest mobile tyre fitting fleet in the business – it’s all part of being easy to do business with.”
In 2012, the Euromaster Group sold more than 1.8 million cold weather tyres across Europe. In percentage terms, ATS Euromaster’s cold weather tyre sales in the UK are accelerating at a faster rate than nearly every other European country where Euromaster is present – the exception being Spain, where Euromaster’s winter tyre sales on the Iberian Peninsula admittedly account for just ten per cent of the volumes sold in the UK last year
Amongst the biggest users of cold weather tyres are supermarket chains, logistics companies, blue light operators and council fleets.
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