Michelin open to sole F1 tyre supply, says motorsport director
Comments from Pascal Couasnon are certain to build on speculation that Michelin will, at some stage, return to Formula One. The tyre maker’s motorsports director shared with French website toilef1.com that Michelin may soften its previous stance on sole tyre supply – while Couasnon indicated a preference for multiple tyre suppliers, he told toilef1.com that “we are ready to go it alone” should the applicable regulations be agreeable to Michelin. He also touched on the other points on Michelin’s wish list: F1 tyre dimensions that enable a level of technology transfer to road tyres, and the opportunity to develop F1 tyres that are not only stable and fast, but also long-lasting. Referring indirectly to Pirelli’s experience as Formula One tyre supplier, Couasnon commented “we need the tyre not to be an object of show, but an object of technology.”
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Pirelli launches 2015 Cal, invites you to #TheCalExperience
Pirelli has launched the 42nd edition of its famous calendar today. Featuring 12 models selected and shot by Stephen Meisel, including Adriana Lima, Karen Elson and Candice Huffine, The Cal 2015 takes a more straightforwardly erotic approach after more conceptual recent editions. It has nevertheless achieved its fundamental purpose of getting the Italian tyre manufacturer’s […]
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‘Mitas Premium’ announced at EIMA – Continental name to be phased out on OE agri tyres
At its press conference at the EIMA agricultural show yesterday, Mitas a.s. announced that as of January 2015, it will replace the Continental brand name on its original equipment agricultural tyre products with Mitas branded products. The Mitas tyres it supplies will bear the ‘Mitas Premium’ name; this name is being given to a new product line of agricultural radial tyres for powerful machinery, and includes the HC 1000 and HC 2000 Very High Flexion (VF) tyres and Super Flexion Tyres (SFT). The VF tyres launched in September 2014 represent Mitas’ latest innovation.
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Tyre production in China – where are the ‘tier one’ manufacturers?
Although only a few Chinese tyre makers can be considered sizeable suppliers in the European market, a glance at the top names in the Chinese tyre market shows that exactly the same applies in reverse. The massive share held by the names at the top of the list also points to the trend towards consolidation within the market.
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Continental opens UK automotive research and development centre
Yesterday, tyre and automotive component manufacturer Continental celebrated the grand opening of its new automotive research and development centre in Lewes, East Sussex. In Lewes, Continental develops Surround View systems that provide 360-degree detection of what is happening around a vehicle. The new ‘Pannett’s Building’ provides additional offices, meeting rooms and a workshop, as well as a showroom for vehicles with Surround View systems.
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Marangoni, Tatneft to establish Russia retreading JV
Marangoni and Tatneft Group have agreed to form a retreading joint venture in Russia. Based in Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan, the joint venture to retread all steel truck tyres will operate as KaMaRetread LLC and is expected to commence operations in the first half of 2015. Trading house Kama, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tatneft, will own 65 per cent, while Marangoni SpA will own the remaining 35 per cent. Tatneft is the owner of Nizhnekamskshina, which recently reached the milestone of two million all-steel radial truck tyres produced by its Nizhnekamsk factory.
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Blackcircles and Dmack agree exclusive UK supply partnership
British tyre brand Dmack has agreed an exclusive UK supply partnership with Blackcircles.com for its passenger car tyre range. The online tyre retailer will offer Dmack PCR products to its customers and retail partners from January 2015. The deal has been in the making for a few months; having participated in 49 World Rally Championship events since it burst onto the international stage, winning accreditation in September 2010, Dmack has developed passenger car and commercial vehicle ranges for global markets. Manufactured by Shandong Yongtai, with British moulds and R&D, managing director Dick Cormack told Tyres & Accessories in April that the brand would compete as an aspirational mid-range brand, and would seek “the right partners” to achieve this. In Blackcircles – themselves in a period of business expansion – Dmack’s management believes they have found the right partner in their home territory.
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Dmack rounds corner on 50th event at Wales Rally GB
The short history of the Dmack brand reaches a significant landmark next week at Wales Rally GB. The concluding chapter of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship marks the brand’s 50th WRC event, and Dmack has announced a powerful line-up to take on its home round of the global series. Dmack will field Estonians Ott […]
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Government, tyre industry unite to reduce tyre-related casualties
The UK tyre industry and various government agencies will forge a closer working relationship following a meeting hosted by PACTs at the House of Commons on 5 November. Both parties are jointly committing to increase efforts to reduce further the number of tyre related casualties which occur each year on the UK’s roads. Those attending […]
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Three new tyres join Bridgestone’s Battlax range
Bridgestone has extended its Battlax range of race, sports, touring, and adventure motorcycle tyres with the launch of the Battlax Racing Street RS10, Battlax Sport Touring T30 EVO and the Battlax Adventure A40. These three product lines will be available globally in February 2015.
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Auto Express test a strong endorsement for winter tyres
In the preamble to the latest issue of Auto Express, editor-in-chief Steve Fowler ponders the attitude many have to buying tyres, noting their status as “one of the most important things you’ll buy for your car,” yet observing that “relatively few of us in the UK think about changing our tyres to suit the conditions” and that “most of us tend to buy on price rather than quality.” Fowler rightly calls this approach “crazy for a safety-related item.” Addressing both issues, eight winter tyres – all from well-known manufacturers and retailing for between £82.49 and £120.99 – underwent a series of cold-weather challenges in the 5 November 2014 edition of Auto Express, and an all-season and a summer tyre joined them to see how they’d fare against the specialised winter rubber.
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Laufenn – a new tyre brand from Hankook Tire
An all-new tyre brand from Hankook Tire was unveiled at the SEMA show in Las Vegas yesterday. This new range from the Korean tyre maker will be sold under the Laufenn name, and although its initial launch is restricted to ten markets in North America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, Hankook describes Laufenn as a “global tyre brand” and says it will be introduced in Europe and other regions “in the coming years,” although a European launch in 2015 looks highly unlikely.
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Durun tyre brand sets up UK distribution centre
Manufactured by Shandong Yongtai, the Durun brand announced the foundation of a UK distribution company at Brityrex. Qingdao Durun International Trade Co deputy general manager, Chuanbo ‘Woody’ Yan told Tyres & Accessories that the manufacturer considered using a British portal to sell and market the brand in the UK an “opportunity” to develop Durun via a different route to other Chinese tyre importers.
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Sales of the Sentury
How does a tyre manufacturer grow from nothing to having large-scale international sales and a few percentage points of market share in a country like the UK in just five years? The answer is by starting with a blank piece of paper and by virtue of some strategic acquisitions.
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Michelin evaluating 18-inch tyres for ‘F1 springboard’ Formula Renault championships
A condition Michelin says must be fulfilled before it considers a return to Formula 1 tyre supply is the change from the 13-inch tyres now used to an 18-inch size. Therefore, the decision made by the tyre maker and Renault Sport Technologies to evaluate the use of 18-inch tyres in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship – a series it views as a “springboard for drivers looking to reach Formula 1” – could be viewed as Michelin taking a step closer towards picking up where it left off in 2006. The two parties are also looking into using 17-inch tyres in the Formula Renault 2.0 championship.
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