IAAF: Kia guilty verdict a major victory for aftermarket’
Now the Supreme Court of Stockholm has dismissed Kia’s petition to appeal against conviction in December 2012 for breach of competition in the Swedish market on its 7 year new car warranty, the IAAF is suggesting the verdict is “a major victory for the aftermarket”. Under the EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation 461/2010, manufacturers have a duty to honour the vehicle’s warranty when it is serviced outside of the dealership, and non-OE parts being fitted onto a vehicle is an insufficient reason for the warranty to be declared invalid.
Continue ReadingTRA launches part worn tyre safety guidelines
The Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) has published new part worn tyre safety guidelines designed to give consumers confidence “that the part worn tyres they are buying are safe and roadworthy, not dangerous and illegal”. According to the TRA, the new guidelines are being introduced to improve standards, share good practice and improve road safety across the UK and follow research suggesting 98 per cent of part worns sold don’t comply with current legislation.
Continue Reading![Kings Road Tyres restructuring wholesale business](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/krt.png)
Kings Road Tyres restructuring wholesale business
Kings Road Tyres (KRT), one of the longest-established UK tyre wholesalers, is restructuring its distribution network and has committed to a multi-million pound investment and modernisation programme to achieve this. However, this also means the eight existing KRT warehouses in the UK and Ireland will be progressively closed to coincide with the opening of new premises. This is expected to take place between the end of March and the end of August 2016.
Continue ReadingAutomotive industry offers orphan car recycling support
SMMT members have committed to helping thousands of consumers recycle their old vehicles with a free take-back service. Under the End of Life Vehicles Directive, when cars and vans up to 3.5-tonnes reach the end of their lives, they must be disposed of in an environmentally responsible way. However, while manufacturers provide this service free of charge, some motorists can face difficulties if the brand is no longer trading and has no parent company. When this happens, the car or van becomes what is known as an ‘orphan vehicle’.
Continue Reading![Ford cutting 100s of jobs in the UK and Germany](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ford_Edge.jpg)
Ford cutting 100s of jobs in the UK and Germany
Ford is aiming to saving US$200 million a year by reducing the number of sales marketing and administration jobs its supports in Europe. To achieve this Ford will offer a voluntary redundancy scheme to the 10,300 salaried workers it employs in Europe, according to Reuters. The deal is likely to include severance pay and early […]
Continue Reading‘Londoners wasting thousands of pounds on cars’ according to research
According to the latest research from Ubeeqo, the mobility app, Londoners are wasting thousands of pounds each year on buying, taxing, maintaining, insuring and parking cars they hardly use, as they do not want to solely rely on public transport. “Londoners seem to be hostage to car ownership” said Benoit Chatelier, founder and CEO of Ubeeqo.
Continue Reading![IAAF annual BEN cricket match set for June](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Patrick-Seal_bowler_BEN-Cricket-Match.jpg)
IAAF annual BEN cricket match set for June
The IAAF annual BEN Cricket Match, co-sponsored by FPS and Comma, has been announced and will take place on Thursday 23 June at Dorridge Cricket Club near Solihull, with hopes to raise as much money as possible for the automotive industry charity.
Continue Reading![Expecting a baby? Add tyre checks to your to-do list, urges TyreSafe](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/94461tyresafe.jpg)
Expecting a baby? Add tyre checks to your to-do list, urges TyreSafe
Of the 700,000 or so babies that will make their first journey home from hospital this year, more than a quarter may do so in a car that drives on illegal or dangerous tyres. TyreSafe bases this statistic on the results of a survey of more than 100,000 tyres it conducted together with Highways England, and with the implications of this in mind has launched a new awareness campaign aimed at pregnant women. The safety organisation is encouraging mums-to-be to add CHECK TYRES to their pre-birth checklist in anticipation of the most important journey they will ever make – the trips to and from hospital, before and after the arrival of their baby.
Continue Reading![SUVs the best-selling vehicle segment in Europe](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Renault_Captur1.jpg)
SUVs the best-selling vehicle segment in Europe
We’ve heard that European new car registrations went up by 9.3 per cent in 2015 and we’ve heard that the UK delivered record figures. But what has been less widely reported is the fact that the strong European increase has been driven by what analysts have called “an SUV boom”. A boom that the British market played a key part in. For the first time in the history of European car sales, SUVs led the way, outselling the traditional subcompact and compact segments, posting an increase of 24 per cent at 3.2 million units. Their market share grew from 19.8 per cent in 2014 to 22.5 per cent in 2015, leaving the subcompacts in second position with 22 per cent share, and the compacts segment third with 20.6 per cent. These vehicles along with the mid-size saloons and sports cars were the only segments to gain market share in 2015.
Continue Reading![Celtic dilemma for Autoparts UK part-time footballer](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Autoparts-Sean-Winter.jpg)
Celtic dilemma for Autoparts UK part-time footballer
East Kilbride’s semi-professional footballer, Sean Winter, who also works within the independent aftermarket as a parts representative for Autoparts UK, faces one of the toughest decisions of his life: play Celtic in the Scottish Cup or fly to Australia on his dream, family holiday.
Continue Reading![Tructyre wins £1.2 million driverless truck funding bid](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/316981.jpg)
Tructyre wins £1.2 million driverless truck funding bid
A consortium initiated by Tructyre has won £1.2 million of funding for its “Pathway to Autonomous Commercial Vehicles” project. This project aims to develop “an innovative solution to monitor key information from the vehicle and predict safety risks based on analytics”. It builds on a prototype which monitors tyre pressures and temperatures in commercial vehicles, combined with always-on network connection.
Continue ReadingBritain to become a global driverless vehicle centre
Eight projects have been awarded a total of £20 million in funding to research and develop enhanced communication between vehicles and roadside infrastructure or urban information systems, including new ‘talking car technologies’, Business Secretary Sajid Javid announced on a visit to the autonomous vehicles test bed at MIRA in Nuneaton on 1 February 2016. The projects are the first to be funded from the government’s £100 million Intelligent Mobility Fund. They range from developing autonomous shuttles to carry visually-impaired passengers using advanced sensors and control systems, to new simulation trials for autonomous pods to increase uptake and improve real-world trials.
Continue ReadingCall for lower alcohol limit and French-style breathalyser law
Following the debate of a Private Members’ Bill in the House of Lords on Friday 29 January, which sought to lower the drink-drive limit in England and Wales to the same as Scotland, alcohol safety experts say more lives could be saved with the introduction of a breathalyser law.
Continue Reading![Translogik promotes iTruck system](https://www.tyrepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/itruck.png)
Translogik promotes iTruck system
Translogik is promoting is iTruck system, which tracks tyre temperature, pressure, GPS position and vehicle braking information in real-time. According to the company, iTruck provides a “rugged and reliable solution” that offers detailed early warnings signals of potential tyre related issues. As a result fleet operator and/or service provider can take swift remedial, which could be the difference between safe operation and a major incident/unnecessary downtime.
Continue ReadingDVSA appoints new chief executive
Gareth Llewellyn has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). He joins DVSA on Monday 14 March 2016, before formally taking over from acting chief executive Paul Satoor on Friday 1 April 2016. Satoor will remain as deputy chief executive.
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