ATS Euromaster celebrates CCS framework fleet tyre and servicing win
Following our in-depth coverage at the start of November, ATS Euromaster has confirmed that it has once again secured a position on the latest Crown Commercial Service (CCS) four-year framework. ATS Euromaster and parent company Michelin have a long history with CCS contracts. However, the latest deal is the first time that ATS Euromaster has been able to offer servicing, maintenance and repair elements such as brake and suspension work, to those on the framework. According to the company, the ATS support also includes the company’s mobile networks to ensure vehicle uptime is fully optimised.
Continue Reading
M&N Transport finds Michelin truck tyre longevity, fuel-efficiency ‘can’t be matched’
M&N Transport is a Wiltshire-based bulk transport firm. The company runs its growing commercial vehicle fleet of 35 trucks and 40 trailers exclusively on Michelin, having found the tyres to last significantly longer than any other truck tyre in the market. M&N is also utilising Michelin’s Effitrailer telematics package across its fleet of trailers and the company has experienced reduced downtime and cut its fuel costs since making the switch to Michelin, improving the sustainability of its operation in the process.
Continue Reading
Two-thirds of Londoners believe ULEZ scheme is cash grab
London’s air pollution-fighting flagship scheme Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), was first launched in April 2019. No stranger to controversy, it has been touted as a “money-grabbing scheme” by some, and a means of targeting motorists going about their daily lives by others. Despite living within the capital, residents can face the £12.50 daily charge by simply driving to their local supermarket. The cause? Their pre-2015 registered diesel or pre-2006 registered petrol car doesn’t meet the strict Euro 4 and Euro 6 emissions standards enforced throughout the city.
Continue Reading
Winter ‘provides a different set of challenges’ for EV drivers
The latest figures from the SMMT confirm that electric vehicle uptake is accelerating, with 21,726 vehicles sold in November, equating to 18.8 per cent of the market. However, motorists embracing electrification for the first time need to consider the impact of harsh weather conditions on battery performance, says Venson Automotive Solutions.
Continue Reading
Year-old EV sales vying with diesels for 2nd in online used car market
Growing confidence in second-hand electric cars is signalled by EVs pushing toward second place as the fuel of choice - particularly among sales of one-year-old cars. According to figures from online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk, EVs registered in 2020 have been representing up to 27 per cent of all one-year-old car sales in recent weeks.
Continue Reading
Brits too attached to part with their cars as only 1 in 10 families gave up second car in lockdown
New research by Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS) has found that only one in ten families have given up their second car since March 2020, despite additional finance pressures during lockdown and a sharp decline in miles travelled. The study from Volkswagen Financial Services UK shows that Brits are too attached to part with their extra cars, despite a huge reduction in commute pressures and daily miles travelled across the UK. Data shows that despite many families no longer requiring an additional vehicle, only 9 per cent of people gave up their second car.
Continue Reading
IAAF virtual conference urges aftermarket to futureproof industry
The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has urged the industry to gear up for change in its ‘Aftermarket for the Future’ conference. Held on 2 December, this year’s conference, headed up by recently appointed chief executive, Mark Field. The conference saw Field kick off the proceedings by celebrating the hard work the aftermarket has carried out over the course of what has once again been a difficult but rewarding year for the trade, before introducing the first speaker of the day, Quentin Le Hetet from GIPA.
Continue Reading
The world’s best wheel cleaning brush?
The WoollyWormit wheel brush has had over 1,900 reviews on Amazon, garnering a 4.5 positive rating. But is it the best in the world? Here’s what the WoollyWormit’s creators had to say: “Like pretty much everyone, we always said the worst part about washing a car is cleaning the wheels…We were tired of spending 50 per cent of the time cleaning 5 per cent of the surface area of the car, so we designed and invented a brush that cleans wheels better, faster and more effectively than other brushes on the market.”
Continue Reading
Looking forward to a better 2022, despite “disruption”
At the end of the year, it is customary to look back at the preceding 12 months as well as to look forward at what the future has to hold. One way our culture sums up the past year is to nominate a fitting word that encapsulates the spirit of the age. Last year our word of the year was “unprecedented”. This year the (OED) Oxford English Dictionary word of 2021 is “vax”, which offers us all – as if it were needed – a reminder of the continuing presence of Covid-19 during the last year.
Continue Reading
Fernando Torres becomes Autodoc brand ambassador
Online auto parts dealer Autodoc has named Spanish footballer and world champion Fernando Torres as the companys exclusive brand ambassador. Resultant communication activities include a wide range of campaigns, but the focus social media activities in Spain and the UK as well as in all of the other 25 European countries in which Autodoc is currently active.
Continue Reading
Car registrations up 1.7%, battery EV uptake doubles
New car registrations grew 1.7 per cent year-on-year in November, bringing an end to four months of consecutive decline, with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reporting 115,706 units registered. However, this must be viewed in the context of a weak 2020, when lockdowns impacted registrations, including November. Compared to the pre-pandemic average, the market remains down significantly, with 31.3 per cent fewer vehicles registered during the month.
Continue Reading
SMMT: Best-ever November for LCV registrations
This year the light commercial vehicle (LCV) market recorded the best November in its history, with figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showing 31,320 new vans registered during the month.
Continue Reading
Big Atom plans Ellesmere port expansion plus 2nd recycling site
Big Atom has big plans. The circular economy start-up, which already boasts the North West’s second-largest tyre recycling plant, is set to ramp-up capacity at its Ellesmere Port headquarters and has plans for two more additional locations as well as the implementation of its pyrolysis technology in the next year or two.
Continue Reading
Torque from the Top – Andy Fern, Stapleton’s managing director
So far, the majority of our ongoing Torque from the Top series of interviews with leading players in the UK tyre business have been with executives hailing from the manufacturing side of things. This month we redress the balance by engaging with Andy Fern who is the managing director of one of the UK’s largest tyre wholesale businesses, Stapleton’s. Here he talks us through the resilience of staff and customers during the turbulent couple of years we have all experience and details the “seismic shift in the market” that has come with increase online demand from consumers.
Continue Reading
Anytime Concrete fined after 2019 tyre explosion death
Concrete supplier Anytime Concrete was fined on 29 October 2021 after an agency worker contracted to work at its site died following a tyre explosion in 2019. Dudley Magistrates’ Court heard how the contractor suffered fatal injuries when using an air hose/compressed air to inflate the tyre of an articulated wheel loader.
Continue Reading
