Andrew is an editor for WhatTyre, Tyrepress, and Tyres & Accessories magazine. He has more than a decade of experience in editing, writing, and journalism.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) is pleased that car showrooms can reopen from today (1st June) in England if they meet the COVID-19 guidelines to protect staff and customers. Franchised dealers have been working hard to prepare their premises in line with the Government and industry guidelines to ensure the safety of staff and customers when reopening.
Autogem has created a triple-layer, reusable anti-bacterial facemask. The new product has been added to the TPMS and workshop consumables supplier in response to the needs of customers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The ‘gemCare’ masks, which are non-medical grade and will therefore not affect the supply chain to the NHS, are designed by medical professionals. Autogem added that the masks are intended to complement other protective measures, such as washing hands and maintaining social distancing.
Cooper has begun the process of restarting its tyre manufacturing plant in El Salto, Mexico. The manufacturer said it is restarting production on a limited basis today. It states that it has “put in place a comprehensive set of procedures that include required employee health disclosures, increased cleaning and disinfecting of facilities and equipment, social distancing and physical barriers, visitor restrictions, and other measures.” These measures are aligned with the company’s “first priority of employee health and safety,” it added.
Michelin has launched the Agilis 3, its latest summer tyre for light commercial vehicles. The manufacturer states that the new tyre is designed particularly for vans used on intense delivery schedules. It adds that the tyre features technology “not used within light commercial vehicle tyres previously.” These help the Agilis 3 to offer safety on wet roads and high fuel efficiency, exemplified by its tyre label scores, while remaining robust and durable. Michelin states that the tyre targets the optimisation of costs and environmental footprint without compromising on safety.
Indian tyre manufacturer JK Tyre & Industries has inaugurated a new sales and marketing operation in the USA. The new arm of the company, Western Tires, Inc, is based in Houston, Texas. It will focus on sales, service and network expansion, the company stated. JK Tyre has been accelerating its global expansion efforts recently, in common with other Indian players, Apollo and MRF. With around 1.3 billion euros in turnover from tyres, JK Tyre is just outside the global top 20 manufacturers, according to the latest Tyrepress research.
While UK car manufacturing is beginning to reopen production lines after producing just 197 units in April, Andrew Burn, partner and head of Automotive at KPMG, said the road ahead is far from clear, despite the UK’s car dealerships being given the green light to open. Export markets, uncertainty about demand, and the challenge of cross-border supply chains all provide significant headwinds for the country’s car makers.
Only 15 units ran off UK commercial vehicle (CV) production lines in April, -99.3 down year-on-year.The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) chief executive, Mike Hawes said that while unsurprising, the figures “illustrate the incredible challenge facing the UK commercial vehicle sector” as a result of the Coronavirus lockdown.
April car production was basically non-existant in the UK. The country’s output for the month was the lowest since the Second World War, down -99.7 per cent, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures. The coronavirus lockdown forced plants to close, meaning just 197 premium, luxury and sports cars left factory gates in the month. These were models that had been assembled prior to shutdowns with only finishing touches needed.
Goodyear management has been convicted by the Amiens court for the unfair dismissal of 832 of its former employees. The manufacturer’s factory in Amiens Nord, France, which specialised in the production of agricultural tyres, closed in January 2014. The closure brought to an end a six-year stalemate between staff and management, with the loss of 1,143 jobs. The Thursday May 28 judgement saw the court ask for the provisional execution of the sentence, as requested by the employee’s lawyer, Fiodor Rilov. The amount of damages to be paid is not yet available. Goodyear management has indicated that it has taken note of the ruling, adding that it reserves “the right to appeal.”
FreshLinc Group has moved its entire bulk transport fleet onto its existing Effitires tyre management contract. The company’s fleet now runs exclusively on Michelin tyres as a result. FreshLinc has grown into one of the UK’s biggest logistics firms, having been established in 2996. It operates four separate divisions – FreshLinc Chilled, FLX Logistics, DirectLinc and FLB – with a combined fleet of approximately 400 commercial vehicles. The company has fitted Michelin tyre for more than a decade.
The Independent Garage Association (IGA) is launching a Covid-19 compliance certification scheme for garages wishing to demonstrate to their customers that the environment is safe. The scheme is based on the Government’s safe working guidelines to prevent coronavirus transmission and will underpin the IGA’s case to overturn the six-month MOT extension by providing evidence that garages are safe places for consumers to visit.
GS Yuasa Battery Sales UK Ltd are pleased to announce the establishment of a new sales company to serve their Nordic and Baltic export regions. GS Yuasa Battery Nordic began trading from a new distribution centre in Jönköping, Sweden in December 2019. The creation of a new sales company and distribution centre in Sweden represents a significant investment from the battery manufacturer, as it aims to increase market share in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
The IAAF is continuing to call for the MOT extension to be scrapped and has written to government to get the decision overturned. In various communications with DVSA and Department for Transport, IAAF chief executive, Wendy Williamson said the decision to extend the MOT “will inevitably have a serious impact on road safety as road worthiness can alter greatly during this period. There is also the obvious concern that due to this postponement there could be thousands of vehicles on the road that are dangerous and unroadworthy.”
European lockdowns have caused sever interruptions to many in the tyre industry. But as the continent’s businesses enter a new phase of reopening, it is important to understand how this can be achieved while minimising the associated risks. Due to the different national timelines involved in this process, UK businesses may look to mainland countries a little further along this journey to see how they are proceeding. Tyres & Accessories spoke to the COO and president of Falken Tyre Europe, Markus Bögner, about how the Offenbach, Germany based company – part of Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) – has weathered lockdown, and is now beginning to “see positive changes” in key European markets.
Demand for renting private parking spaces in or near city centres has increased dramatically in the past few weeks, according to ParkLet, the UK’s largest parking space letting agent. The company, which initially experienced an 82 per cent slump in demand at the beginning of the UK’s lockdown period, has since seen a 47 per cent rise above normal April volumes (and similar for May), as the country’s employees avoid using public transport and instead switch to driving to and from their workplace. With traditional city-centre parking often being overcrowded and overpriced, it appears many commuters are looking at alternative options such as renting private parking spaces.
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