GSF reports 20% growth, potential for 40 more branches
GSF Car Parts is reporting 20 per cent year-on-year revenue growth, outperforming a buoyant aftermarket sector. Indeed, data from Factor Sales suggests strong growth across the wider aftermarket car parts segment, with the sector up 6.5 per cent year-on-year growth for September, continuing a pattern that has seen eight out of nine months in 2024 trading ahead of 2023. One explanation is that the growth of the car parts market indicates that consumers are holding on to their existing cars for longer, driving demand for repairs and replacement parts.
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Cybercrime and independent garages
The assumption that independent garages can fly under the radar when it comes to cybercrime arguably makes them even more vulnerable. Indeed, here Autotech argues that such views are not just misguided, but potentially disastrous for both the business and its reputation. Recent statistics paint a sobering picture. The UK’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 revealed that half of all businesses experienced a cyberattack or breach in the past year. Futhermore, these are said to be part of “an escalating threat landscape that demands serious attention”.
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Halfords sales go flat: Autocentres still supporting group, but tyre sales down
Halfords Group’s like-for-like sales during the first six months of 2025 were flat (-0.1%). Those figures compare with a strong period the year before where first-half 2024 like-for-like sales grew 8.3 per cent. Writing in a trading update for the 26 weeks to 27 September 2024 and published 22 October 2024, essentially the company’s first-half 2025 figures, executives shared how their “controlling the controllables” plan is on-track. However, financial analysts noted that “consumers are still cautious” and that Halfords’ group’s in-line results are due to cost-savings rather than revenue growth.
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Second Prince Michael award for TyreSafe
TyreSafe has once again gained the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award, an accolade that highlights the UK tyre safety charity’s vision of reducing to zero the harm that poorly maintained or illegal tyres cause road users. The award comes at a significant time in TyreSafe’s two decades of campaigning, as the organisation claims to be “undergoing its most progressive strategic shift and growth period.”
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Alan Lindsay joins Kirkby Tyres as OE Business Development Specialist
Kirkby Tyres has appointed Alan Lindsay to the role of OE Business Development Specialist, further strengthening the company’s support and services for original equipment and OE2 manufacturers.
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Big Atom appoints new head of finance
Big Atom has appointed Allen Takawira FCCA, MBA, CMgr FCMI as the company’s new head of finance. Takawira brings with him 16 years of experience in finance, spanning industries including wholesale, media, and manufacturing.
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Auto Bild votes Michelin & Pirelli its top cold weather tyre makers
After conducting no less than six all-season and winter tyre tests in recent months, Auto Bild is well positioned to identify and acknowledge the tyre makers who have consistently produced safe, well-performing tyres. It has now done so, naming Pirelli its star amongst the all-season tyre makers for 2024/25 and Michelin the leading manufacturer of winter tyres. Continental and Goodyear also secure a podium place for both categories.
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Stamford Tyres mourns death of Wee Kok Wah
The Board of Directors and management team of Stamford Tyres Corporation Limited has announced the death of Wee Kok Wah, the driving force that transformed the company from small tyre shop and retreader to global tyre and wheel distributor. Mr Wee passed away peacefully late on 21 October 2024, aged 78.
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Prometeon names 3 new UK BDMs
Prometeon Tyre Group has appointed three new business development managers (BDMs). The move is said to underscore “Prometeons commitment to growth, enhancing support for customers, and building further partnerships”.
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Eurogrip-branded EV tyres under development
Eurogrip-branded electric vehicle (EV) tyres are on their way, as Indian tyremaker TVS Srichakra reported that it is developing advanced fuel-efficient tyres made for EVs and primarily targeting the Indian market.
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Continental now offering WinterContact 8 S
A new product for high-performance vehicles has joined the Continental winter tyre portfolio. From launch, the Continental WinterContact 8S will be available in fitments for 19- to 22-inch rim diameters and rated up to W, for speeds as high as 168 mph (270 km/h). All dimensions are EU tyre label ‘B’ rated for rolling resistance.
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Kumho launches tyre digital twin system
Kumho Tire has developed a digital twin (DT) system which engineers are applying to the tyre development process. According to the company, Kumho’s DT system has been developed by incorporating “big data analytics, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and Computer Aided Technologies (CAE)” into the tyre development process.
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Point-S Spain continues to grow
Point S Spain now consists of a total of 30 workshops as the retail group’s expansion in the Iberian peninsula continues. The news, published on social media on 21 October 2024, comes as a result of Motauto’s membership of Point S.
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Goodyear pulls back the all-season curtain
The Vector name has featured on the sidewalls of Goodyear tyres since the manufacturer introduced its first all-season model in 1985. The current state of the art is the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, which caters to a market that Goodyear expects will grow by around eight per cent annually over the next five years. The tyre maker has shared a few details about how it created this latest product.
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Multiple OE tyre suppliers for BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé
BMW Group has debuted the second generation of its BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé, a car that, according to the manufacturer, sets “a new standard in the premium compact segment.” Order books are now open in the UK, with prices starting at £34,915 on the road. A range of summer and several winter tyres are approved for UK deliveries.
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