Goodyear wins Auto Express all-season tyre test
Recognising the attractiveness of all-season tyres to the majority of the UK market, leading weekly magazine Auto Express has conducted its second comparative test of six products in the segment. Testing on the bestselling 17” size, 225/45R17, the magazine used the independent Test World facility, with support from Hankook, to test in snow, and Continental’s Contidrom to test in cold and wet conditions to represent winter, and dry conditions to represent summer. The full test also included two leading seasonal tyres, the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 winter tyre and the Continental ContiSportContact 5 summer tyre, which showed that all-season products continue to represent a compromise; however the performance gaps in the tests most relevant to UK drivers may surprise critics of year-round tyres.
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Consolidation of Chinese tyre manufacturers gaining speed
Following the implementation of US import tariffs in the last year (car tyres 2015; truck tyres 2016) and the widespread recognition of vast oversupply in the Chinese manufacturing base, there has been talk of consolidation of tyre industry in the People’s Republic for some time. In the last few weeks however, it has become apparent that several Dongying, Shandong-based tyre manufacturers (especially those found in the Gungrao district) have experienced serious difficulties resulting in bankruptcies, buyouts and mergers. Now the consolidation trend appears to be gathering speed. Deruibao Tire was the first to go pop more than a year ago, taking the private brand orders of some well-known wholesalers and importers with it, before its assets were taken on by fast-growing Qingdao Doublestar in what some characterised as a shotgun wedding, but was also a sign of things to come. Several local Chinese news sources named Dongying-based Hengyu Tire as the next to go (with the latter apparently declaring bankruptcy on 14 February), followed by the smaller and younger O’Green and Watson Tyre factories. At the same time, various Chinese tyre distributors report that Yongtai Chemical’s tyre operations have shut down. Company representatives were not available for comment. However, we do know that Yongtai-owned Covpress (a Coventry-based panel metal supplier to well-known OEMs including Jaguar Land Rover) has entered administration. And furthermore, DMack – which had made itself popular selling World Rally Championship tyres made at Yongtai Chemical – switched production of its tarmac competition tyres to Cooper Tire Europe’s Avon Motorsport division in Melksham in mid-August (see “Yongtai Chemical-owned Covpress in administration” for further details).
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Falken flagship UHP tyre, Azenis FK510, to expand to SUV sizes in 2017
Falken will expand its ultra-high performance (UHP) flagship tyre, the Azenis FK510, to include SUV tyre sizes in 2017. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries global brand states that the new additions reflect the growth of the SUV market and continues the tyre manufacturer’s strategy of supplying an extensive range of products in profitable and high-growth segments. Starting in January 2017, the Azenis FK510 SUV will be available in 19 sizes ranging from 17 to 22 inches and will come with a speed rating of W or Y.
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GT Radial FE1 City ‘urban car tyre’ now available
The new GT Radial FE1 City tyre for A-C segment urban cars is now available throughout Europe following its launch on Giti Tire’s stand at Reifen 2016. The tyre currently comes in 16 sizes, with rims from 13-16”, section widths from 145 to 195 and series sizes 55 to 80. The tyre was designed by the company’s R&D Centre in Hannover, Germany and features a silhouette of the city of Cologne to mark its European R&D credentials.
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Algarve Product Experience extends Davanti’s first-year hot streak
Davanti’s first full year has seen the brand engage in a broad and intensive range of sales and marketing activities, led by a rapid fire trade show appearance schedule. Interest in the brand has been quick to ignite in its UK home market. The company’s management has consistently said the wildfire-like growth of Landsail – distributed by Grouptyre member and Davanti Tyres sister wholesaler Oak Tyres, and manufactured, like all of Davanti’s current products, by Qingdao Sentury Tire – in the UK has not been the focus; according to them Davanti wants to grow in a more controlled, brand-driven manner. So far the company has certainly more than fired a warning shot across the bows of other brands operating in the highly competitive aspirational mid-range sector of the UK market, while Davanti’s recent appointment of European sales director Michael Eckert, formerly of Sailun, Hankook and Michelin in his 21-year career, demonstrates its seriousness about growing into continental Europe. So this was an excellent time for the company to host its first dealer event; a three-day Product Experience trip at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
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Yongtai Chemical-owned Covpress in administration
Coventry-based car panel OE supplier Covpress entered administration at the end of September, with administrators stressing there are no current plans for redundancies amongst the 800 staff. Rather there is a good chance the business will be sold as a going concern. So far around 50 companies are said to have expressed an interest. But with business on the up at Covpress, could a deflated Chinese tyre business be behind the news?
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Michelin COO Florent Menegaux explains the thinking behind this year’s investments
During the course of the 2016 Paris Motor Show, Tyres & Accessories took time out with Florent Menegaux (Michelin chief operating officer in charge of product and core business). Our conversation covered four key areas: Mobility – that is, Michelin’s increasingly evident philosophical evolution away from simply being a tyre maker towards being a mobility provider; Products and services – in other words the traditional well-established product centres the company is best known for (as well as the innovations connection to and rising from these areas); Experiences – what has traditionally been known as the maps and guides part of Michelin’s operations, but which is increasingly seeking to connect the firm’s excellent brand and content with technology and monetisation options; and finally distribution – the actual means of getting products (and services) from the manufacturer to the end-user via the professional supply chain.
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NTDA honours ‘legend’ Sir Tom Farmer with chairman’s award
As well as the popular Tyre Industry Awards, the NTDA also presented special awards to three individuals that have gone the extra mile in their service of the tyre industry over the years during the annual dinner at the start of October. The association honoured Kwik-Fit founder and well-known philanthropist Sir Tom Farmer with the national chairman’s award for outstanding contribution to the tyre industry as well as an honorary life membership of the association. In addition Brian Funnell and Lennie Wells become honorary life members (see Brian Funnell and Lennie Wells become NTDA honorary life members).
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Firestone targets European mid-range car tyre ‘shake up’ with A-grade Roadhawk
Firestone has targeted “shaking up the mid-price tyre segment in Europe” with its new Roadhawk, a car tyre engineered for endurance and safety. The Bridgestone brand says its Roadhawk targets mainstream motorists who drive all types of journeys – urban, highway, commute, school run, shopping – on a daily basis. The brand adds that these drivers want a tyre that gives them long-lasting performance in road conditions where wet weather, heavy traffic, sudden braking, and motorway speed are all part of the daily mix.
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TyreSafe reinforces message at Tyre Safety Month conclusion
TyreSafe is encouraging drivers to pay attention to its Tyre Safety Month message throughout the year following the conclusion of October’s Tyre Safety Month. The number of reported casualties caused by tyre-related defects fell in 2015, though on average more than 1,000 people a year are killed or injured from such incidents (1,075). In fact, that average number of casualties is higher than for faulty brakes (1,052) and nearly double that for incidents causing injury where the driver’s use of a mobile phone (651) was a contributory factor, Department for Transport figures over the last five years show.
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Klarius explains exhaust system back pressure: video
UK exhaust manufacturer Klarius has posted a series of web training videos to YouTube, explaining the nuances of exhaust design, and such necessities to engines as back pressure. Since back pressure is controlled by the design of the entire exhaust system – including diameter, shape and length of the exhaust and any baffles present in the muffler – Klarius states that detailed design and testing is a necessity. The company manufactures more than two million exhaust systems every year in the UK.
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Tyre Industry Awards – New venue, but still a sell-out
The 2016 Tyre Industry Awards held in October was sell-out event once again. And this was despite having moved to a new venue (Birmingham’s Vox Centre) and it being just the second year of the resurrected conference. To top it all more than £4000 was raised for the NTDA’s chosen charity, the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights, which is backing the training, development and travel support of Paralympic athletes preparing for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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Nissan commits to Sunderland plant despite Brexit
Nissan Motor Company Ltd. has committed to producing the next Qashqai crossover vehicle in Sunderland. Executives had warned that this may not happen following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. However, not only has the company received satisfactory assurances to continue with production of the Qashqai for the next few years (the next Qashqai model is expected to be made in 2018 or 2019). Nissan also confirmed that it will add production of the next X-Trail model at its Sunderland as well in something of a surprise move.
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Marangoni Group names Maggioni its new CEO
Dino Maggioni has been named the new chief executive officer of the Marangoni Group. He succeeds Massimo De Alessandri in this role and was appointed by the company’s board after approval was granted at a shareholder meeting. During the meeting, the company’s statutory charter was also modified to increase the number of directors to eight board members.
Continue Reading Doublestar forms European joint venture with Zenises
On 22 September 2016 Doublestar Europe Ltd was registered as a UK company based in London. Tyres & Accessories understands that the company is a joint venture between Zenises and growing Chinese tyremaker Qingdao Doublestar designed to bring Chinese products into European markets.
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