Micheldever’s TyreClick to support independents’ online competitiveness
In the context of large chains and online specialists growing in influence, Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS), Britain’s largest independent wholesaler, distributor and retailer of tyres, states that its proprietary TyreClick solution could provide an answer for independent garage businesses. The increasing popularity of online tyre sales in European markets, recently noted by Michelin after purchasing Blackcircles.com, is resulting in increased competition for online sales from national chains and specialist internet traders. Recent movement in the online landscape has ignited the debate among independents about how they can compete, and Micheldever says it is stepping into the breach with TyreClick.
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Firestone brand relaunch continues with Reading Festival sponsorship, new tyres
Firestone’s relaunch through a series of summer music festival sponsorships – the Firestone Music Tour announced at the Geneva Motor Show – will include events in Spain, Germany, France, Poland, Italy and at the Reading Festival in the UK. Firestone has committed to a high-profile presence in Reading, led by a team of Firestone roadies incorporating a large Firestone stand, signage, special attractions, parking and campsite activities. A new Firestone website will also be launched shortly, supplemented by a concerted social networking campaign on a variety of online channels.
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Auto Express names Dunlop, Continental Product Awards winners
The Dunlop Sport BluResponse, and the ContiWinterContact TS850 have been named winners in the latest Auto Express Product Awards. Detailed in the latest June Special of the UK’s best-selling motoring weekly, product experts Henry Willis and Kim Adams wrote that its summer tyre winner – the Sport BluResponse – “has clearly been designed with EU tyre labels in mind [with highly rated fuel efficiency and wet grip characteristics]… Yet Dunlop engineers haven’t ignored other performance attributes,” with the tyre achieving “six top-three places” in Auto Express’ nine testing categories. The winter tyre winner – the ContiWinterContact TS850 – was lauded for its all-round ability, having been bested by competitors in snow track testing. Conti’s tyre was rated highly for achieving highly in the “conflicting demands” of wet grip and braking, and low rolling resistance.
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Yokohama to supply tyres to reconfigured Clarkson, Hammond & May Live tour
The Clarkson, Hammond & May Live tour will feature Yokohama as its Official Tyre Supplier. A renegotiated deal was struck to allow the motoring presenter trio to fulfil its live commitments despite Jeremy Clarkson’s infamous removal from the flagship BBC show. The result of the renegotiation was the removal of Top Gear branding and pre-existing material filmed alongside the presenters’ work on the TV show. The Japanese tyre manufacturer told Tyrepress that it has agreed to maintain its tyre supply deal for the three remaining weekends, with Yokohama branding and promotional materials to appear in and around the arenas in Belfast, Sheffield and London.
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Porsche 911 GT3 RS to run on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
Porsche AG has decided to equip its new 911 GT3 RS with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 ultra-high performance tyres. Michelin said the new 911 would run 265/35 ZR20 (front) and 325/30 ZR21 (rear) tyres. The manufacturer says of the latest generation of road-legal track tyres that they “blur the line between motorsport and road tyres.” Porsche also fits the Pilot Sport Cup 2 as original equipment on its recent 918 Spyder, Cayman GT4 and 911 GT3 models.
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Giti: Rim sizes getting larger, and the UK is more ‘high-performance’ than many think
Having heard both the consensus and a third party perspective on what the high performance tyre market is and what is happening in it, when Tyres & Accessories asked Neil Hendry, general manager – Passenger Car Tires, Europe for Giti Tire for his and Gitis view, he offered another perspective again.
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High performance tyre segment growing across Europe
As we have seen, the high performance tyre market is a complex and competitive environment. The fact that most manufacturers define and therefore calculate the market in a slightly different way adds to the complexity. With this in mind, Tyres & Accessories asked GfK automotive account director Kevin Glynn for some outside insights into what is going on in the world of high performance tyres.
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Falken Tyres team secures podium on Nürburgring 24 Hours
Falken Tyres has achieved its aim of a first podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The team of Peter Dumbreck, Martin Ragginger, Alex Imperatori and Wolf Henzler guided Falken’s Porsche 997 GT3 R from 19th on the grid to a podium slot, improving on its fourth place finish in 2014. The team’s number 44 Porsche – the only car on the grid to use Falken tyres – rose gradually through the field overnight, dealing with typically varied Eifel region weather, including showers during the night.
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Avon launches new TrailRider adventure sport touring motorcycle tyre
Avon has launched its new TrailRider motorcycle tyre, a product it calls its “most advanced tyre yet”. Making the point that the large trailbike segment has not been a big priority in markets more focused on sportsbikes, tourers, and naked bikes, Avon says that 600cc-plus dirt-styled bikes have become more important over the last decade. Bikes like the BMW R1200 GS and Triumph Adventure are amongst the best sellers in many markets, Avon adds.
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Size matters: The makings of a high performance tyre market
At the start of 2015 we examined the wider car tyre segment as part of Tyres & Accessories February’s “Passenger Car Tyre” feature. In short, we examined the spectrum of figures offered for the size of UK demand and found that most sources settle between 31 and 38 million units a year. Interestingly, some of the latest data points to the market being at the higher end of the spectrum – something that has not been very widely or openly acknowledged in the past.
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Bridgestone OE on Ferrari California T
Bridgestone has been appointed as one of the tyre suppliers for the new Ferrari California T. The new V8 turbocharged Ferrari now can leave Maranello production line with Bridgestone Potenza S007 RFT (Run-Flat Technology) sport tyres.
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Nokian claims world first with AA-labelled winter SUV tyre
The introduction of the European tyre label in November 2012 resulted in murmurs from some tyre makers – most notably Nokian Tyres – about its unsuitability for appraising their winter ranges, and the Finnish manufacturer even went as far as introducing its own ‘winter grip label’ that aimed to place labelling criteria within a winter context. This was withdrawn after a short period of time, but now Nokian Tyres has made another label-related winter tyre announcement: Despite the label’s use of criteria that is more compatible with summer tyres, this autumn Nokian will launch a SUV winter tyre that has achieved an ‘AA’ label rating. The tyre maker points out its size 265/50 R19V WR SUV 3 is the first winter tyre in Europe – and by default the world – to achieve this top label rating.
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Tyrepress visits Michelin Training Centre
One junction along the A500 from its UK headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent, the Michelin Training Centre is a point of reference for just about every point of the tyre industry. Offering a portfolio consisting of more than 100 training courses, the centre covers technical product training in the car, motorcycle, industrial, truck and agricultural tyre segments, as well as technical information for police and “tyre forensics”, and management and sales training appropriate for the industry. Many of the courses offered also include City & Guilds and REACT accreditation, giving attendees the backing of external qualifications on top of training coming from one of the few brands to achieve total recognition. Tyrepress toured the Stoke-on-Trent centre with its manager Charly Bailey, who explained the litany of tyre business knowledge available to those attending the MTC’s courses: “Sometimes when you’re really busy in a workshop you don’t get the chance to ask a question.”
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BKT hopes to raise its global OTR market share into double figures in 2015
Indian OTR tyre manufacturer BKT estimates its global market share at “around six per cent” in the off-highway tyre segment, but following its appearances at major European trade shows Intermat and Sima in 2015, it stated that an increase in market share is one of BKT´s goals in terms of strategic growth. The company aims at a turnover of 2 billion US dollars by 2020; a challenging target based on a positive trend of growth of 30 per cent over the last five years corresponding to six per cent market share in the specialist segments for agriculture, earthmoving, mining, and industrial vehicles and machinery as well as port, ATV and gardening applications. The last financial year ending on March 31, 2014 closed with BKTs turnover at 780 million US dollars. The company employs more than 7,000 people and sells over 2,300 products in 130 countries worldwide.
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MWSD preparing to take wheel messages onto European markets
Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) achieved vindication for its wheel safety message at European level when the component was named as a “safety critical item” in European law within the Roadworthiness Package. The issue – in this case the potentially unchecked fatigue caused to commercial vehicle wheels by being fitted to unsuitable hubs – is not considered over now that provision has been made in European law. “It’s made changes – real changes – out there, there’s no doubt about it,” Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) managing director John Ellis tells Tyres & Accessories. “There’s a commercial side to everything, but there is a real debate going on now, and that hasn’t even started in Europe yet.”
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