GaragesNear.Me goes commission-free until 2022
Online booking system GaragesNear.me has announced it is going commission-free until at least the end of 2021. The platform is waiving its 10 per cent fee to encourage more bookings and build on its success. This means the site is completely free to garages.
Continue Reading
MAHA UK launches LinkedIn page
MAHA UK has launched a LinkedIn page and subsequent advertising campaign to complement the brand’s Facebook page, which has reportedly been “an excellent tool to generate new leads and sales, as well as sharing updates from equipment installations and news from within the UK and other MAHA subsidiaries around the world”. Indeed, MAHA UK has pledged to not just increase its visibility online, but to provide followers with “valuable and exciting material”.
Continue Reading
Stellantis’ Alison Jones named SMMT president
The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has appointed Alison Jones, Stellantis senior vice-president and country manager UK, as its new president. Jones’ appointment to the role of president, which takes effect 1 January 2022, follows a year-long tenure as vice-president at the SMMT, where she contributed to the organisation’s direction and strategy.
Continue Reading
Kumho Tyre extends Tottenham Hotspur partnership
Tottenham Hotspur and Kumho Tyre agreed to a “long-term extension” of Kumho’s position as the premier league football club’s Official Tyre Partner at a signing ceremony at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium recently.
Continue Reading
Aquaplaning measuring device wins Autocar technology award
An aquaplaning measuring solution devised by Tread Ltd founder Ray Collier has won the prestigious Autocar Drivers of Change Digital Award. According to the award citation, Collier’s one-box solution offers a unique way of reducing the R&D costs associated with car and light truck/van tyres.
Continue Reading
First Stop over half-way to target of 220 branches by 2024
Bridgestone’s First Stop Tyre and Car Services retail chain is rapidly accelerating towards its goal of 220 branches by 2024 following a string of strategic new signings as well as a run of existing partners agreeing to five-year extensions during November 2021.
Continue Reading
Tyre specialists shortlisted across Garage Star Awards regions
Tyre specialists may not have been named as outright winners this year, but there was at least one tyre retailer named in most of the Motor Ombudsman’s regional Garage Star awards categories. Nearly 1,100 customers submitted a nomination for an individual team member or business accredited to one or more of The Motor Ombudsman’s four Motor Industry Codes of Practice, who they felt had gone above and beyond to assist them during the last 12 months.
Continue Reading
AJD Tools launched in the UK
Randstad has introduced the AJD Tools brand into the UK aftermarket. Through AJD Tools technicians can purchase specific automotive and diagnostic tools. Technicians can also access a large product range from the well-known manufacturer, Hubitools, including inspection devices such as (video) endoscopes, videoscopes or electronical stethoscopes. AJD Tools has been created as a legacy to Randstad founder Anthony (‘Tony’) John Dowd, who sadly passed away at the start of 2021.
Continue Reading
‘The online tyre market has moved on two or three years’ – MTS
With multiple sources suggesting that the online tyre business broke new ground during 2020, but with data illustrating that trend less easy to come by, Tyres & Accessories caught up with Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) wholesale director Graham Mitchell in order to get a leading tyre wholesaler’s perspective. Starting by setting the company’s recent online tyre business performance into the context of its recent history, our interview looks to the future of the online tyre business and touches on the importance of search engine marketing in the tyre trade.
Continue Reading
Big Atom wins £350,000 tyre recycling grant
Big Atom is celebrating a major breakthrough in its attempt to “revolutionise” the tyre recycling process after receiving a £350,000 grant from Innovate UK. The clean-tech recycling company, which already boasts the North West’s second largest tyre recycling plant, has been given the cash injection to develop its patented chemical reactor technology, which will convert old waste tyres into new materials.
Continue Reading
Bus & coach registrations shrink almost a fifth in Q3 2021
The UK new bus and coach market fell by 19.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) calls this result “a deeply disappointing decline following a 2020 performance devastated by Covid.”
Continue Reading
HGV market down 8.4% in Q3 2021
Registrations of new heavy goods vehicles (HGV) declined 8.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. According to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the decrease saw 7,715 trucks registered, some 704 fewer than the Q3 2020 total, which itself was volatile due to the effects of the pandemic. It was also down 9.8 per cent on a particularly weak pre-pandemic total in 2019, which saw orders pulled forward into the second quarter of the year ahead of the introduction of new smart tachograph regulations.
Continue Reading
Essex garage The Pit Stop joins First Stop
Brian Palmer has been diagnosing automotive issues, providing complete vehicle repair and offering bespoke advice for 42 years and opened The Pit Stop garage on Colchester Road between Colchester and Clacton in 2012. Now, the former HiQ franchisee has joined First Stop, which will reportedly provide him with the backing of a national franchise network, featuring new signage, branding, equipment and premium tyre availability.
Continue Reading
Merityre celebrates hat trick of tyre industry award wins
Merityre is celebrating a hat trick of industry award wins this year, which honoured the tyre retailer for its service and retail excellence. The company, which has over 20 branches across the south of England, Merityre picked up two gongs at the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) Tyre Industry Awards including the Medium Tyre Retailer of the Year and overall Tyre Retailer of the Year awards.
Continue Reading
Hella, Pro-Align launch new trade event in Scotland
Pro-Align vehicle diagnostic expert and Hella Gutmann will bring a hands-on workshop experience to Lanarkshire in Scotland in November 2021. The event, giving business owners and vehicle technicians from across Scotland an opportunity to trial on some of the world’s leading industry systems, will be hosted by New College Lanarkshire on 17 November. Pro-Align is the sole UK distributor of leading US wheel servicing equipment brand Hunter. Hella Gutmann is a pioneer of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration for the independent aftermarket. Recognising the increasing synergies between their areas of expertise, the two companies became brand partners earlier in 2021.
Continue Reading
