5 years on, Evergreen-Zelos partnership ‘thriving’
Renault Clio Cup racer Dan Zelos has been supported by Evergreen Tyres for half a decade. The partnership started in karting, and has continued to Zelos’ current drive in the Renault Clio Cup. The tyre brand states that its support for Zelos is motivated both by the marketing opportunity it offers and by helping a young driver achieve his ambitions.
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Falken celebrates ‘most successful’ VLN season
Falken Tyres experienced its most successful VLN Endurance Championship season in 2018, securing seven podium finishes including two race victories, as its Porsche 911 GT3 R beat its competitors around the Nordschleife. The Type 991 has been the most successful Falken race car in the VLN to date, claiming two wins and nine podium finishes since its racing debut in April 2016. A reliable competitor, it has completed more than 30,000 racing kilometres overseen by Falken’s engineers.
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Hankook’s Ventus Race tyre supports wide variety of circuit racing series
Hankook has supplied several demanding series in 2018, including the DTM, FIA Formula 3 European Championship, 24H Series powered by Hankook, the VLN Endurance Championship, and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, with the Ventus Race tyre.
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2018 has been ‘Up in the air’
When it comes to reviewing 2018, two words sum up the kinds of talking points virtually everyone has touched on this year: tariffs and Brexit. Indeed it has to be said that 2018’s two meta-themes are not entirely separate from one another. Nevertheless, both have this in common. For most of the last twelve months details of both subjects have been “up in the air”, leaving the rest of us to forecast (which often means speculate) exactly what is going on. See page 32 for further analysis of what has been going on this year as well as coverage of a couple of stories that are emblematic of these themes.
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Michelin rejuvenates retail programme
In May Tyres & Accessories reported that Andy Aylward had been appointed as Michelin’s retail programme manager for the UK and Ireland. In this role, the 30-year Michelin veteran is responsible for overseeing the company’s network of over 80 accredited car and motorcycle Michelin Certified Centres, which is now known as the Michelin Automotive Programme. Since then, there has positive feedback from the car tyre retail sign and a number of initiatives have been kick started in the two-wheel as well as car tyre side of things. At the end of November Tyres & Accessories met up with Aylward in order to find out more.
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The increasingly high-value UK tyre replacement market
4x4/SUV and UHP markets continued to grow in 2018 As part of our review of 2018, Tyres & Accessories asked market research specialists to give an overview of some of the key trends that have taken place in the UK car, 4x4 and light truck replacement tyre market trends during the course of the year. In doing so, we have a good foundation for looking forward into 2019 and beyond. What we found was that UK tyre replacement market is increasingly high-performance and increasingly high-value. GfK’s Panelmarket data compares the period between November 2016 and October 2017 with November 2017 to October 2018. Reading left to right, the infographic below shows the percentage share of the panelmarket broken down by vehicle type (passenger car, 4x4 including SUV and light commercial vehicle); key changes in the panelmarket during the last 12 months broken down by rim diameter; brand tier split; and the two five tyre sizes.
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Chinese tyre manufacturers aim to increase OE supply
When you look at Tire+’s deliberate proximity to a premium car show such as Auto Guangzhou, the first thing that comes to mind is original equipment (OE). If we take a comparable European equivalent event such as the Geneva Motor Show as an example, most of the leading global tyre players as well as some of the larger up-and-coming brands use Geneva as a way of showcasing new technologies and products in order to generate additional OE tyre sales as well as the benefit of the enhanced ongoing tyre replacement sales that come with the so-called OE pull-through effect. While it is not as linear and transactional an equation as investment in a motor show equals OE contracts, it clearly is an important part of the corporate courtship ritual. Surprisingly, things are a little different in China.
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Tire+ 2018 returns
Of course, the earlier shows (including the first edition of Tire+) were held in Shanghai. This time, the 2018 event saw the Tire+ exhibition move to Guangzhou. According to the organisers the goal of the exhibition was “not only to continue the mature model of 2017, but also leverage the resources of the exhibition”. In practice this means leveraging the show’s ability to operate in both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer realms, specifically “the automobile industry chain, which is suitable for the post-automobile market consumption upgrade and individualized demand” as well as “tyres and aftermarket enterprises”.
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Fintyre to open London head office
The last couple of years have been something of a whirlwind for the European Fintyre Distribution project, which has seen the business grow from a key player in the Italian market into a wider European operation with aspirations of being the leading force in pan-European tyre distribution and perhaps even beyond. Tyres & Accessories recently met with European Fintyre chief executive officer Mauro Pessi in order find out more about the company’s decision to base its central headquarters in London as well as its general, ongoing growth.
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Prinx Chengshan goes public ahead of expansion drive
With the striking of a ceremonial gong, Prinx Chengshan (Cayman) Holding Limited went live on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at precisely 9:30am on 9 October. The tyre maker’s listing last month followed nearly a year of preparations and represents an important step in a growth and internationalisation strategy that also includes producing in Southeast Asia and making greater inroads into European and North American markets.
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November 2018
Click on the CONTINUE READING button to view the November 2018 issue of Tyres & Accessories
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Dundee closure ‘supports Michelin’s intent to accelerate cost savings’ – analyst report
An analyst report published by Jefferies International Limited has stated that the closure of Michelin’s Dundee plant “supports [the company’s] intent to accelerate cost savings during 2019-20.” Presenting its nine-month 2018 results in October, Michelin warned that demand had deflated in the car and truck markets and it was revising down its guidance; subsequently Michelin shares fell to a seven-year low.
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Chancellor delivers pothole budget
While many have been talking about chancellor of the exchequer the right honourable Phillip Hammond MP’s decision to increase the personal allowance threshold from £11,850 to £12,500 in April 2019, for those of us connected to the automotive and transport industries this year speech is probably best described as a pothole budget. True Hammond has raised personal allowance threshold and has raised the point at which people start paying higher rate tax (40 per cent) to £50,000, but the automotive industry was hoping for much more clarity and even support the wake of a Brexit-fuelled, uncertainty ridden market context.
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ATD ‘making significant progress’
American Tire Distributors, Inc. (ATD) has written to customers saying that the company is making “making significant progress with [its] recapitalization process” in a letter published on the firm’s recapitalisation website on 28 October 2018. According to the company, the steps taken “will strengthen our financial position as we continue our successful, game-changing transformation. We have a clear roadmap for the next steps in this process and the support of our key financial stakeholders has us on track to emerge by the end of the year as a stronger company with less debt that is even better positioned to serve our customers.”
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