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Originally created by the US military as a retreading facility, Danang Rubber (DRC) claims the highest market share for truck tyres within Vietnam, a country with almost 100 million people and a very active road transportation industry. The company is also a first-time Tyrexpo Asia exhibitor and is “enthusiastically looking forward” to introducing itself to Asian and global markets.
Nexen Tire reports that Audi A3 models sold in Europe are available with factory fitted Nexen N’Fera Sport and N’Blue 4 Season tyres. The fourth generation A3 wears the N’Fera Sport in size 225/40R18 92Y XL and the N’Blue 4 Season in 225/45R17 94V XL.
Aftermarket alloy wheel firm MAK is adding seven new articles to its range in 2023. These seven products join four product ranges.
Automotive wheel and structural components manufacturer Iochpe-Maxion has joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the world’s largest voluntary platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible sustainability business practices.
Continental has launched its largest tractor tyre to date, the VF TractorMaster in size VF900/60R42. With a diameter of 214.7 centimetres, the tyre is larger than a door frame and weighs 450 kilogrammes. It has a load index of 189 (10,300 kilogrammes). Continental has developed the tyre size specifically to carry the weight of agricultural machinery producing more than 300 horsepower.
Amongst recently-announced changes to the Tire Industry Project (TIP) was the addition of Continental as a fourth co-chair. The company describes involvement in this capacity as “further emphasising its comprehensive commitment to sustainability.” Continental says it will contribute resources to TIP as well as its “long-term expertise in the areas of end-of-life tyres, sustainability assessment methods, and sustainable materials.”
Vehicle manufacturers have built various models upon common platforms for years now, so why not do the same with tyres? Bridgestone sees the value in sharing modular components across tyre lines and is making something called BCMA a foundation of its New Premium strategy. It will market tyres resulting from this strategy under a global brand name and promote this brand via reactivated motorsport activities.
Congratulations to Hankook for its table-topping performance during the preliminary wet & dry braking component of Auto Bild’s 2023 summer tyre test, and well done to the other 19 finalists that also progress to the second and main round of testing. But what about the 30 tyres that didn’t make the grade – how well or poorly did they perform?
A further four “strategic sizes” join the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 range this year and cover popular models such as the Kia Sportage, Peugeot 5008, and Tesla Model 3. Tyre sizes 235/45R18 98Y XL and 245/40R19 101Y HL are already available, while 225/55R18 102Y XL and 225/55R18 98Y will arrive in April and June respectively.
The expansion of Bridgestone Enliten into the replacement tyre market will commence in Europe this year with the launch of Bridgestone Turanza 6 and Duravis Van products featuring the technology. The tyre maker plans to debut a total of eight Enliten products for the European aftermarket in 2023, a figure representing around five per cent of all Bridgestone passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres in the European replacement market.
On 1 April 2023 Colin Pears, currently Sales Operation Manager at Toyo Tyre (UK) Ltd., will take over as Managing Director of the tyre maker’s UK subsidiary. He begins in this role on the date that Teppei Shigeno ends his tenure as President of Toyo Tyre (UK).
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) confirms that it will introduce tyres featuring its ‘Active Tread’ technology in 2024. Active Tread will arrive with SRI’s next-generation all-season tyre.
German motoring association ADAC will soon publish its 50th anniversary tyre test together with partner clubs in Europe. To honour the occasion, it has tested 50 tyres in two sizes instead of the usual 30 or so. The half-century milestone is also accompanied by a shift in focus: In addition to safety-relevant driving qualities, in future it will place a greater emphasis upon each tyre’s environmental and sustainability characteristics.
In order to satisfy increasing local demand, Yokohama Rubber is expanding passenger car tyre production capacity in India. It will invest US$82 million in its Yokohama India manufacturing and sales subsidiary to increase capacity from 2.8 million tyres per annum to 4.5 million tyres.
Goodyear has released a tyre it designed to “optimise performance in compact cars.” The new EfficientGrip Compact 2 strengthens the EfficientGrip offering for the small passenger vehicle segment, complementing a tyre family that also includes EfficientGrip Performance 2, EfficientGrip 2 SUV and EfficientGrip Cargo 2.
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