Continental implementing second ContiLifeCycle project phase
Retreading capacity at Continental’s Hannover-Stöcken site, located near the German tyre maker’s headquarters, has grown faster than many anticipated. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories, the director in charge of Continental’s Retread Business shares that the second expansion phase that began late last year will be ready during the course of 2015. And Christian Sass points out that while this second round of work will exclusively focus on furthering Continental’s mould cure retreading capacity, this doesn’t in any way mean pre-cure retreading and the company’s ContiTread partners are not being looked after.
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Consumers most likely to repeat-buy mid-range tyres
Tyrereviews data suggests mid-range is perceived as outperforming premium The tyre-buying public is most likely to repeat-buy mid-range tyre brands, according to data collected and compiled by consumer tyre rating website, tyrereviews.co.uk. The data, which is based on a total of 11,429 consumer reviews even goes as far as saying that consumers believe their mid-range […]
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New distribution centre and new product range
Kumho executives show Tyres & Accessories around Lutterworth NDC Just over a year after Kumho moved into its Lutterworth, Leicestershire national distribution centre (NDC), Tyres & Accessories caught up with brand manager Dan Woodward and marketing director John Thrupp in order to learn more about both the NDC and the company’s ongoing progress in the […]
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Landsail beats Michelin – surprise result in Finnish tyre test
No less than 15 tyres took part in the 2015 summer tyre test carried out by Finnish trade publication Tekniikan Maailma (World of Technology). Size 205/55 R 16 tyres from premium, mid-range and budget manufacturers were fitted to a VW Golf and evaluated by specialists from Test World in Ivalo, Finland and ranked according to performance in a series of wet and dry tests. Continental’s ContiPremiumContact 5 topped the table with a score of 9.5 out of 10 and a rating of five out five stars, however an entry from another premium manufacturer didn’t fare so well.
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Full house of UK’s biggest CV tyre brands at CV Show 2015
The CV Show has become an increasingly important event for the tyre and wheel segment in recent years, and the trend will continue with the 2015 edition. The UK segment’s biggest manufacturers – Hankook, Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone, Pirelli and Giti will all be present, as will the ambitious Sailun and Aeolus brands and retreader Bandvulc – and related companies such as wholesaler RH Claydon, and Pro-Align with the new Hunter commercial vehicle wheel aligner.
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Multiseason – Firestone’s first all-season tyre
Visitors to Bridgestone’s stand at the Geneva motor show would have seen Firestone branded products nestled alongside their Bridgestone cousins for the first time in many years. Amongst the Firestone range shown in Switzerland was the brand’s first all-season tyre, the Multiseason.
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Continental, Nokian strong performers in Russian tyre test; Bridgestone in last place
Although sitting near the bottom of the size pecking order, a fair number of vehicles still arrive in Russian showrooms fitted with 14-inch rims. Therefore the latest issue of motoring magazine Za Rulem has opted to evaluate tyres for this smaller wheel size. Using a Lada Priora as test vehicle, the publication evaluated 11 size 185/60 R 14 tyres from European and Asian manufacturers at the AvtoVaz proving ground in Togliatti, Russia. Top honours in the test went to Continental’s ContiPremiumContact 5.
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Coach and Bus tyre features punching above segment’s weight
When we consider the truck and bus market it can be easy to downgrade the importance of the latter half of the equation. According to the latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Factbook, there were 89,374 buses (including coaches) on the UK’s roads last year, equating to 13.6 per cent of the UK heavy commercial vehicle parc (i.e. not including van-sized vehicles) and 0.2 per cent of the total vehicle parc. Compared with 568,993 trucks (86.4 per cent of the CV parc), the people transportation segment of the CV market is clearly the junior partner. New bus registrations have made a strong start to 2015 (see textbox), but are still relatively small beer.
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Hankook UK bus and truck tyre market leader in 2014
In September Tyres & Accessories published a truck tyre market analysis suggesting there has been a massive shift in UK truck tyre market share distribution in the five years since the last time we did a study of this kind. In short, we found that the market is no longer the three-horse race it was in 2009 when Bridgestone and Michelin were fairly evenly matched ahead of Hankook in third place. Instead it looked like it had become a five-horse race, with Hankook and Goodyear Dunlop duking it out at the top. Of course, we have to be conscious that this all refers to sales volume data (tyre unit sales) as opposed to sales values (and the pound notes tell a wholly different story), however the overall point remains extremely pertinent to understanding what is going in the market.
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Continental net income up almost a quarter in “extremely successful” 2014
The CEO of Continental Corporation has described 2014 as “another extremely successful financial year” and confirmed that all targets set for the year were reached. “When evaluating the results, we should not overlook the fact that there was, in some cases, very weak growth in Europe, Russia, and South America,” elaborated Dr. Elmar Degenhart. “There were also significant exchange rate fluctuations. In addition, the mild winter at the end of 2014 had a negative impact on the winter tyre business in Europe. The driving force behind the sales development once again came from China and North America. In light of this, it is remarkable that profit after taxes of just under €2.4 billion or €11.88 per share could be achieved.”
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Michelin’s new CrossClimate: Year-round, not all-season
On 2 March, at the sidelines of the Geneva Motor Show, Michelin launched its CrossClimate tyre. You could be forgiven for calling this tyre as an “all-season” product, however Michelin executives are emphatic that it is not one. Instead it is being pitched as something of a paradigm shift - both for the the French manufacturer, which has repeatedly positioned itself as a staunch supporter of seasonal summer/winter swaps, and for the market in general. Instead Michelin is positioning the CrossClimate as a tyre tuned for European markets with more temperate climates. The United Kingdom and its growing all-season tyre market is undoubtedly one region the tyre maker has in mind for the CrossClimate, however the strategy and the implications of it latest offering go far wider than just the UK alone.
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Yokohama gives Geolandar H/T G056 4X4/SUV tyre a European debut in Geneva
Yokohama has announced plans to launch a new 4X4/SUV tyre – called the Geolandar H/T G056 – in Europe this summer. The new tyre features an orange oil-based compound which reportedly improves wet grip and shortens wet braking distance something that is clearly significant for European weather conditions.
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Goodyear presents battery-charging, shape-shifting tyres at Geneva show
Although just concept products at this point in time, Goodyear Tire & Rubber believes two tyres it unveiled at this week’s Geneva Motor Show hold potential to radically change the role car tyres play in future.
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1-2 seconds faster lap times for Pirelli’s 2015 F1 tyres
Formula One has completed its pre-season testing schedule, with Pirelli’s P Zero and Cinturato tyres improving lap times by one-to-two seconds. The full range of P Zero slick compounds was tested at Barcelona, and while the Cinturato Blue full wet was unused, the Cinturato Green got some limited track time in brief rain showers. Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembery believes that most of the teams “are already well-prepared for the season ahead,” compared to 2014, with “significantly quicker” cars likely to become even faster in hotter track conditions when the season starts.
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Falken gets Volkswagen Passat OE nod
The new Volkswagen Passat will roll on two versions of Falken’s 16” Ziex ZE914A tyres. Debuting at Autosalon in Paris at the start of October, the new Passat had the Ziex ZE914 redeveloped by Falken’s engineers in Japan and tailored to the Passat’s specifications. The new tyre is also available as standard in an Ecorun variation – the manufacturer’s designated fuel efficiency boosting brand.
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