All Change in UK Commercial Vehicle Tyre Market 2009
In 2009 Bridgestone and Michelin remained relatively stable market leaders in the UK commercial vehicle tyre market. However a real turnaround has taken place in the rest of the top five. According to Tyres & Accessories’ research, the recession has resulted in traditional truck and bus tyre market stalwarts Goodyear Dunlop and Continental being leapfrogged by relative newcomers Hankook, which now resides in third place with a 20 per cent market share. While Continental didn’t explicitly confirm all the details of T&A/tyrepress.com’s research at its annual market trends briefing in London on 11 December, a spokesperson did concede that the company had slipped to fourth place in 2009 (holding 15 per cent of the market), after its group brands occupied third position in 2008: “We reached third position in 2008, but the challenging economic conditions mean that we are currently fourth in the market with an aim to regain ground in the next three years.”
Continue ReadingConti: 2009 Market Volume Constant, Segmentation and Value Down
2009 may have been a “turbulent time” in the UK passenger car and van tyre markets, but some premium tyre manufacturers finished the year better than it started; and there are signs pointing to the recovery of premium manufacturer’s sell-in sales. That’s the view of Continental Tyre Group executives, who spoke to Tyres & Accessories at the company’s annual market trends briefing in London in December. As well as presenting the company’s influential overview of market sales and general trends, Conti representatives also gave a fascinating insight into how the government’s highly successful scrappage incentive scheme may affect future car sales. Continental estimates the UK car, 4x4 and van tyre market totalled 33 million tyres in 2009, a slight drop over the final figure from 2008. However, while 2009 is said to have seen motorists hold off getting new tyre purchases, the overall numerical impact on the market is said to have been limited. Instead Continental re-affirmed that the UK tyre market has been experiencing a so-called “de-segmentisation” effect with consumers buying tyres of lower unit value and brand equity than they purchased pre-recession (something Tyres & Accessories first observed in May 2009 following strong Korean-brand tyre sales the preceding March). What is interesting about Continental’s analysis of this effect is that they are the only company so far to suggest that there is a significant group of consumers that are dropping two segments (premium to budget, for example), double de-segmenting if you will.
Continue ReadingTWG Chair: Tyre Wholesalers Again Show Recession Resilience
As a man of 40 experience in the tyre trade – and with it the knowledge of three recessions – Tyre Wholesalers Group chair Ashley Croft is in a good position to comment on the effects of the current financial crisis (which, depending on whose opinion you are heeding, may or may not have come to an end). In his speech at the 2009 TWG Annual Lunch, Croft described the past year as a “harsh period”, but made clear that the recession had hit hardest in the tyre business where manufacturers were most committed to supplying original equipment. However, he stated, “replacement market traders have once again proved themselves to be relatively recession-proof”.
Continue ReadingPremium Tyre Message Must Permeate Supply Chain: Rickard
In what Tyre Wholesalers Group chair, Ashley Croft called, “a clear challenge to the tyre industry”, Jim Rickard – managing director of Michelin Tyre plc – called on the members of the TWG to match the “sophistication…of the manufacturers within the whole supply chain”. Speaking at the Group’s Annual Lunch in Droitwich Spa, Rickard expressed uncertainty about the way information about tyres is transmitted to customers: “I’m not sure the message about performance characteristics gets through at the point of sale.” He argued that new legislation – exemplified by forthcoming tyre labelling laws governing noise, wet grip etc – was making visible to the consumer proof of a tyre’s superior characteristics over rival brands, thus allowing components of the supply chain to justify to customers the relative cost of one product to another.
Continue ReadingHas Pirelli Lost Fifth Place in European TBR Market to Hankook?
Market share data released by Hankook shows that Michelin remains the undisputed leader in both the car and truck tyre segments. However, the previously exclusive stable of top five tyre manufacturers has gained a new member in 2009. Hankook’s decision to publish its projections of how the land lies, following one of the most tumultuous periods in the market’s history, may only have happened because it was a good year for the South Korean tyre manufacturer, however the fact remains the unusual combination of events experienced in the last 12 months means there are signs that the status quo has been disrupted. Looking forward the question is: will the company be able to sustain this position in the years to come? Here’s Hankook’s calculation of how the European car tyre market will look at the end of 2009. Michelin remains market leader with a 20 per cent market share, followed by Goodyear Dunlop (18 per cent). Bridgestone are next on the list with a 12 per cent share of the market, followed by Pirelli with 8 per cent. And here’s where things get interesting. Hankook are in sixth place with a 7 per cent market share, snapping at the heels of fifth-placed Pirelli who are only one percentage point ahead with 8 per cent.
Continue ReadingHankook Now ‘Number 6 in Europe’
Hankook are now the sixth largest tyre manufacturer in Europe, according to company figures. Speaking during a tour of the South Korean-based tyre manufacturer’s Racalmas, Hungary tyre production plant in November, European PR manager, Felix Kinzer, announced that the company now calculates it is the seventh largest tyre maker in the world in terms of units sales; and not far from sixth. Tyres & Accessories' own data, which calculates the rankings based on the value of sales using the euro as the control currency, puts the company in eighth. Algebraical differences aside, the point is that Hankook is gaining ground on its competitors, something that is even clearer when you look at Hankook's take on the current European leaderboard. The company’s calculation puts Hankook in sixth place in the European passenger car tyre market with a 7 per cent market share, snapping at the heels of fifth-placed Pirelli with 8 per cent. Things are even better in the truck and bus tyre business, where the company’s market share has reportedly grown to nine per cent, putting the company in fifth place after Bridgestone (13 per cent), this time ahead of Pirelli (5 per cent). When you consider the rapid growth rates Hankook' sales are currently experiencing, the company's arguably ambitious calculations deserve further attention.
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Hawleys is the Oldest Tyre Dealer in the UK
Its official, Hawleys Tyres Ltd Company is the oldest independent tyre dealer in the UK. And in recognition of the company’s prestigious position as the nation’s longest established tyre dealership, Tyres & Accessories today awarded Martin Hawley and directors Tim and Simon Hawley with a certificate marking the achievement and a case of wine. The prize was presented by Pirelli Tyre UK managing director Dominic Sandivasci, who presented the 12 bottles of prestigious Pirelli P Zero red wine to the Hawleys.
Continue ReadingArrest Made Following Stockport Tyre Fire
A 16-year old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson following a blaze that destroyed a tyre business in Stockport. The fire at AL Tyres, in Sheffield Street, Heaton Norris was lit some time shortly after 8pm on the evening of October 12, and during the course of the evening around 60 firefighters were engaged in containing and extinguishing the blaze.
Continue Reading50,000 Tyres On Fire In County Londonderry
Up to 50,000 tyres reportedly caught fire at the Campsie Industrial Estate in Eglinton, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland at 22:00 on Sunday 5 October. News sources say more than 70 fire-fighters are attending at the scene and residents have been told to keep their windows closed. Local resident John Lamberton sent tyrepress.com the video and photo images alongside this story, having become aware of what he thought were fireworks late on Sunday night. Meanwhile, Cambridgeshire fire-fighters report that another fire, which has been burning at Murfitt Industries, near Littleport since August is likely to burn out this week. This fire began on 21 August. Customers told Tyres & Accessories that despite the fire they haven’t noticed any interruption of service.
Continue ReadingOnline Tyre Sales Still a Mid Range Market
With 70 per cent of us now having access to the Internet, and consumers making an average of 2.1 virtual purchases a month, maintaining the right online presence is as important as ever. According to the 2009 Oxford Internet Survey, the two most common online activities are researching product purchases and actually buying them (about 80 per cent of web users having done each). However with a multitude of distractions out there in cyberspace, tyre businesses have developed complex e-marketing strategies designed to lure customers to their sites with low prices, before up-selling them onto more expensive products. Some of the clearest evidence to date shows that the Internet is an increasingly competitive mid-range market, not a budget bargain basement as some say. Comparing online price monitoring data with the results of market research conducted by Encircle Marketing shows that national fast fits continue to be the most expensive places to buy, with tyres costing £86.22 between January and August 2009. No surprises there. The fact that tyres are cheapest at pure e-tailers (£65.91) on average, won’t surprise many either. In fact, with the exception of average prices at autocentres rising to meet those at car dealerships (£78.68 and £79.18 respectively) the pattern is pretty much the same as it was last year.
Continue ReadingEDIWheel eBusiness Standard Comes to the UK
In the five years Tyres & Accessories/Tyrepress.com has been publishing a dedicated e-Commerce feature, one of the most common themes has been the real need for an integrated approach to selling tyres online. Now this need is being answered with the introduction of the EDIWheel eBusiness standard into the UK, linking and automating the whole approach from stock availability through to invoicing. The online tyre market is estimated to occupy a 4 per cent market share across Europe, however, the true potential for eBusiness in the UK tyre industry is yet to be fully realised for two main reasons. Firstly the amount of ordering websites that are not integrated with the dealer’s order processing systems or processes. And secondly, the absence of an agreed industry wide eBusiness standard for core business processes such as ordering and invoicing. According to the group of collaborating tyre manufacturers involved, these issues are being addressed by key members of the tyre industry with EDIWheel (Electronic Data Interchange Wheel – wheel representing the distribution cycle and not a physical wheel) eBusiness standard which enables the automation of stock availability checking, ordering, order confirmation, dispatch advice and invoicing. Specifically, a forum hosted by TIF about EDIWheel for tyre manufacturers, software developers, dealers and wholesalers has been scheduled for mid-November.
Continue ReadingThe Market is Ripe for Korean Tyre Makers
2009 could be a breakthrough year for the Korean tyremakers. A collection of circumstances (some clearly the result of famed Far Eastern forward planning, and others distinctly more fortuitous), mean Kumho, Hankook and Nexen have found themselves poised to sell increasing numbers of replacement tyres in the UK and Europe. In addition, their successful efforts in the OE department – ironically helped along by the shaky macro-economic environment – mean this perfect storm of variables could leave the Korean manufacturers in an even stronger position when the dust settles. In the UK, a market where mid-range and economy tyres make up around 60 per cent of unit sales, official figures show that 4.7 million passenger car tyres of South Korean origin were imported last year. However, this cannot be the complete total because it only includes tyres imported from factories actually situated in South Korea. Owing to the fact that all three have significant manufacturing presences in China, and tyres often enter the market by “indirect routes,” it is likely the true total is a lot more.
Continue ReadingNexen to Invest 1 Trillion Won in New South Korea Factory
Nexen Tire is planning to invest 1 trillion won (£526 million; 572 million euros; $829 million) in a new factory in South Korea. The move is seen as a way of ramping up production in anticipation of a 6 per cent annual growth of global tyre demand. The new plant, which will be located in Gyeongnam Province, southeast of Seoul, would be the world's largest to produce tyres for passenger vehicles and light trucks, according to the company. The investment, which is scheduled to be made by 2017, will double the company’s existing annual output from its other China and South Korea plants to 60 million units and place it among the world's top 10 tyre makers, the company said in a statement. Nexen shares rose 1.35 per cent to 6,020 won by 0248 GMT 28 September 2009 following the news.
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BMTR Celebrates 90 Years, But is it the Oldest Tyre Dealer in the UK?
Although recent years have been challenging for the UK automotive industry, Birmingham remains a city steeped in automotive heritage. And, in the midst of some high profile casualties in recent years, BMTR says it is going from strength to strength and this year celebrates its 90th anniversary. The company clearly has some history, but is it the oldest in Britain? In order to find out, and in celebration of BMTR’s 90th anniversary, Pirelli Tyres UK exclusively through Tyres & Accessories is offering a case (that’s 12 bottles) of fine wine to any tyre dealer or wholesaler that can prove they are the oldest in the business.
Continue ReadingBandvulc Aims to Double Fulda’s UK Truck Tyre Share
Bandvulc Group, the Devon-based retreading and fleet servicing operation, is aiming to significantly increase Fulda brand truck tyre sales in the UK. Speaking at the company’s Fulda-brand launch event at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground yesterday (17 September), Bandvulc managing director Patrick O’Connell explained that the company has already equalled the Goodyear Dunlop group brand’s 2008 UK sales volume. Starting as they mean to go on, the company reported that it has already transferred the Tesco fleet's doubledeck OE onto Fulda new tyres.
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