Continental Wants To Buy Back Shares
The German newspaper Handelsblatt says in todays issue that Continental is planning to buy back its own shares. This will be confirmed at the general meeting taking place on May 19th. The Supervisory Board proposes the usual limit of 10 p.c. of the original capital and a time limit up until the end of October 2001. With this move Continental wants to keep the option open to make acquisitions by exchanging shares.
Continue ReadingLand Rover Sale Finally Agreed
The sale of Land Rover to Ford by BMW – a deal which was in doubt recently – has been finalised. BMW agreed to Fords stipulation that one third of the asking price of 3 bn Euros will not be paid until the year 2005.
Continue ReadingWith three new tyres,
With three new tyres, named 4x4Contact, 4x4SportContact and 4x4WinterContact, the German tyre manufacturer wants to establish its leading brand in the segment of sports utility vehicles (SUV). And this segment seems to be quite interesting: According to a Continental market analysis the number of 4x4 vehicles in Europe is expected to double by the year 2005 compared to 1995 and leading to a growing market for 4x4 tyres. Some reasons are that new fashionable/stylish compact SUVs which are faster, fuel efficient and easier to drive or larger SUVs offering a high load carrying space and/or seating capacity are stimulating the demand. As a result SUVs are increasingly becoming an alternative to standard cars. Therefore the focus of the three 4x4 tyres is for on-road use, but for the future Continental plans to launch all-terrain and off road tyres, too. Meanwhile the 4x4Contact is the tyre for compact and medium range SUV, whereas the 4x4SportContact has a more sporty image. Fast and high powered cars are the target for this tyre. The 4x4WinterContact – as the name suggests – is the specialist for the colder time of the year. European production of the tyres was launched recently and later this year they will also be manufactured in USA.
Continue ReadingGoodyear Wins BRV Awards Again
Once again, Goodyear has won the Golden Award from the BRV – the German tyre dealers association – for the passenger car and truck sectors. The prize reflects market- and customer-driven behaviour.
Continue ReadingClosure Of Two Uniroyal Factories In Mexico
Uniroyal S.A. Mexico, daughter company of Michelin North America, has confirmed the closure of their two factories in Tacuba and Queretaro. 760 employees are affected and will receive a severance package. Uniroyal Mexico says that it was not possible for the two factories to produce tyres cost-effectively and the company was losing money, while imported tyres were making a profit. Other possible reasons for the closure, for example political or environmental reasons, were strongly denied.
Continue ReadingMore Technology Partners For Rubbernetwork.com
Rubbernetwork.com, the global market place for the tyre industry, has entered into an alliance with IBM, i2 and Ariba, who will connect the software of individual member companies to the network.
Continue ReadingNew Vice President For Hayes Lemmerz N. A. Cast Wheel Operations
Hayes Lemmerz has appointed Jesus Bonilla-Valdez to the position of Vice President Operations responsible for its six-plant cast wheel operations in North America.
Continue ReadingFirestone Defence Becomes More Aggressive
During a highly emotional press conference in Tokyo, Bridgestones boss Kaizaki again asked Ford to shoulder more of the blame. Kaizaki again pointed out that the recall in the USA is precautionary and, to date, no technical failure has been found. In Saudi Arabia, for example, the tyres have not caused - according to a joint investigation by Firestone and Ford - the problems. Firestone has never tried to cover up the facts, said Kaizaki (67). He refused to resign and said that he would take the responsibility for re-establishing the Firestone brand. A management shake up in Nashville seems likely, as soon as the recall is over. John Lampe, Executive Vice President for Bridgestone/Firestone USA, said during the hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee that Ford should share the blame. Official data on 16,000 Explorer rollovers, related to 600 deaths, show that in only a very few cases were there problems related to tyres. Bridgestone management is annoyed that, during Nassers call to Sam Gibara at the end of August, the Goodyear chief said that he had no knowledge of Goodyear problems in connection with the Explorer. Goodyear supplied two million tyres for the Explorer and there have been numerous proofs and photographs showing that Explorer accidents and rollovers had occurred with Goodyear tyres.
Continue ReadingFast Fit For All Brands At VW
Authorised VW dealers will integrate a fast fit service in Germany under the name Car Center by the end of 2001 open to all car brands. Besides brakes, exhausts and shock absorbers the offer will also include accessories like alloy wheels.
Continue Reading“No Defects Found In Recalled Tyres”
Bridgestone/Firestones chief executive in the USA, John Lampe, has said that the company has not found a defect in its recalled tyres, but he did say that there was a safety issue with a small percentage. Lampes definition of a defect is something you can point to and say there is the cause and we havent been able to find a cause or combination of causes. He added that he believes the tyres only pose a safety problem when fitted to Ford Explorers.
Continue ReadingGreater Share Of Australian Cable Co. For Pirelli
Pirelli Group, already 51% shareholders in Pirelli Cables Australia Ltd is making a take-over bid, offering 52.7 European cents per share. Pirelli claims that the offer represents a 66% share premium to the average share price in the past month, 46% against the last three months. Liquidity, according to Pirelli is low, with only two shareholders owning 70% of the stock.
Continue ReadingIs Continental Chasing Matador?
Since January 1999 Continental has held a 75% stake in Matadors truck tyre production. Now rumours suggest that Continental is seeking the same deal for passenger car tyre production. There is no confirmation of this from Continental. Up until now Matador management has been keen to remain independent as far as passenger car tyre production is concerned. Matador see opportunities to develop passenger car market share throughout Europe as well as maintaining its successful position in Russia.
Continue ReadingUnease For DaimlerChrysler
According to US-based news reports, Dieter Zetsche, currently head of the truck division, is to be named as the new head of Chrysler, replacing Jim Holden. This is taken as a signal that the firms problems in America run much deeper than previously thought. It suggests that the market resistance to the Chrysler product is not solely price-based. As the problem develops and becomes more public, the greater the questions raised will be, regarding the wisdom of the Daimler-Benz/Chrysler merger.
Continue ReadingAndreas Scheiba Leaves Continental Group
Andreas Scheiba, co-managing director of the Groups equities Vergölst (Germany) and Profi (Austria) has left the group by mutual consent.
Continue ReadingTuning in Germany – History, Market Volume, Industry Trends
During the last three decades the tuning sector has become a sizeable branch of the German economy. A survey of the Verband Deutscher Automobil Tuner (VDAT) in 1994 recorded about four hundred businesses directly connected with the tuning sector. From 1994 to 1998 total turnover in the tuning industry showed an annual growth rate of just under three per cent. Compared with a 1994 turnover of 7.0 billion marks, latest estimates of the 1998 figure showed a total industry turnover of 7.7 billion marks. More recent figures are not yet available. A positive trend was also forecast for the year 1999 and estimated to be between two and three per cent to reach a figure of approximately 7.9 billion marks. This positive balance, however, is not exclusively generated by the tuning businesses, part of it is contributed by the manufacturing industry. Low-profile tyres (aspect ratio < 60) sold by the tyre manufacturing industry, for instance, are incorporated in the figures. Until the seventies the dominating theme in the industry was optimisation of engine performance, but during the last 20 years the tuners have more and more concentrated on a complete personalisation and harmonisation of the vehicle. In this context tyres and wheels take a decisive role, since this product group with its 27 p.c. turnover share in all VDAT member companies can claim the largest slice of the lucrative tuning cake.
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