Can artificial intelligence reduce warranty claims?
At the start of April 2019, Bridgestone formally completed its billion-dollar acquisition of TomTom Telematics. The goal – as ever – is to capitalise on the benefits of big data, leveraging its usefulness in the cause of better tyres and greater efficiency for all stakeholders. Of course, Bridgestone is not the only tyremaker seeking to make the most of tyre data. Many have invested significantly in developing cyber tyres over the course of the last 10 to 15 years, harnessing the fact that tyres are a vehicles’ only point of contact with the road and therefore the only means of generating real-time road surface:vehicle contact data. This same approach also yields tyre condition and performance data, which can be used for everything from motorsport to commercial fleet applications. But what about in the manufacturing process itself?
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EfTD growing with the ‘right opportunities and matches’
European FinTyre Distribution (EfTD) has grown at a rate of knots since Bain Capital first acquired Italian tyre wholesaler Fintyre in the first quarter of 2017. At the time, Bain Capital Private Equity managing director Ivano Sessa stated his confidence in Fintyre’s “substantial growth potential both organically and through consolidation in a fragmented Italian and European tyre distribution market,” and later on the private equity fund put its money where its mouth was.
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Growth and stability amongst leading UK tyre retailers
6 - 10 stability, but battle for ninth position Outside of the top five, there is a certain degree of stability amongst the remaining five companies. Those in sixth, seventh and eighth position (McConechy’s, The Tyre Group and Lodge) appear to have remained stable in terms of branch count, with 61, 58 and 40 branches respectively. However, it is worth considering all this in the context of ULM Services Ltd the fleet-orientated cooperation Universal, Lodge and McConechy’s set up during 2017. Put those three partners together and we have 119 branches and another strong contender for fifth position on the table.
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ETEL continues to lead top 20 UK tyre retailers 2019
After years of expansion amongst the top 20 UK tyre retailers, the latest data shows that this trend peaked in 2017/2018 when the top 20 accounted for 2014 branches. The same 20 tyre retailers had 1980 branches between them in 2018/2019. And what’s more, the reorganisation of one retailer alone accounted for a 40-centre decline in branch count, with the overall figure remaining positive due to growth at other chains. Here Tyres & Accessories analyses the branch count data in the context of 10 years of comparable research.
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The growing influence of autocentres on tyre retail
In recent years autocentres have been selling more tyres than ever. At the same time, specialist tyre retailers – such as those featured on our annual table, have moved towards additional servicing and mechanical repairs in order to increase sales. This is especially the case at the top of the table, amongst the largest tyre retail chains where as much as 45 per cent of annual turnover is now made up of non-tyre sales.
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April 2019
Click on the CONTINUE READING button to view the April 2019 issue of Tyres & Accessories
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Goodyear launches Eagle F1 Series of UHP and Supercar tyres
Goodyear originally launched the Eagle moniker back in the 1930s. And the Eagle F1 was introduced to the market in 1985. However, the latest generation – which begins with the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 and goes all the way up to the Eagle F1 Supersport RS – is designed to meet the most demanding consumer needs. Tyres & Accessories attended the Goodyear Eagle F1 Series event at the famous Ascari racetrack in Spain in order to find out more.
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Cambrian Tyres welcomes new Continental lines & Anlas sizes
These words are being written in the unseasonably mild final days of February, and I’m not alone in hoping the sunshine augurs an early start to spring. More than a few riders have decided now’s as good a time as any to start the season, and fingers are crossed within the motorcycle trade that the record temperatures will offset this year’s late Easter.
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‘A compromise of the compromise’ – Vredestein wins all-season tyre test
Past tyre tests have on occasion presented all-season tyres as a compromise solution, a jack of all trades but master of none. But is this always the case? German car magazine Auto Bild Allrad doesn’t think so – in its current test of seven size 235/55 R19 SUV tyres, the publication opines that all-season products are no longer a “lazy compromise”. While noting that a single tyre that can do everything well at all times of year still doesn’t exist, Auto Bild Allrad found one that came close.
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From highly recommended to not at all – Promobil van tyre test
It’d been a long time since a tyre test had delivered results so poor as those recently seen in a van tyre comparo jointly conducted by three European motoring associations: More than half the candidates were rated ‘not recommended’. In comparison, the seven size 235/60 R17C tyres tested by specialist campervan magazine Promobil were – mostly – considered competent products. Only one wasn’t recommended.
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Brexit, the continuing saga
We were told that 29 March was the Brexit deadline. As we go to press in the week after that deadline passed, it is clear that we don’t know either when or how we are going to Brexit. As we discussed last month, the consensus amongst analysts and the automotive industry is that there will be a massive negative impact on vehicle manufacturing (and therefore automotive suppliers) in the UK. But what else do we have to look forward to?
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Vimexa moving forward as an independent intermediary
One man, a kitchen table and a vision. Nothing more is needed to launch a successful business. When we spoke with the founder of fledgling company Vimexa five years ago about his goal of matching stocks between suppliers and customers, beginnings were small and hopes high. From there, Rutger Veerman has built his company up into a thriving niche player within the tyre market that serves wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers around the world. We recently caught up to find out about Vimexa at five years of age.
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Anteo: Prometeon’s new brand for tier 3
Sales within the premium and tier 2 segments of Europes commercial tyre market have remained level for years, but the tier 3 segment is growing in leaps and bounds. For Prometeon, the company behind the Pirelli commercial tyre brand, this trend represents an opportunity it doesnt wish to miss out on. It presented its new Anteo brand to potential distributors on 26 March, displaying a launch range of six lines.
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Alberto Vigano on Vredestein’s new two-wheel range
Riders in the UK and Europe will encounter a new brand of motorcycle tyre later this year, a brand with its sights set on the big players. Entering a hotly-contested market poses a sizable challenge, but the newcomer has several aces up its sleeve. Not only is it produced by a major tyre maker that is already established in Europe, anyone who’s ever shopped for car tyres will find the brand reassuringly familiar.
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Dunlop’s Edouard Carpentier on niche markets, motorsport & innovation
Numerous niche subcategories now exist within key segments of the motorcycle market, a phenomenon mirroring the high proportion of bike owners riding for pleasure. This blurring of traditional segment boundaries presents a challenge to tyre makers, who must decide between a ‘one size fits all’ approach or striving to meet the individual needs of a growing number of rider groups. For Dunlop, it was an easy decision.
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