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Yokohama has announced the upcoming launch of its newest generation of winter tyres in the UK. The W.drive V905 is being introduced this year in a range of 15-17” sizes, and the UK distributor, Yokohama HPT, is expecting to take delivery of the first available sizes ready for the start of the 2014/15 winter season.
Slovenian tyre producer Savatech has recalled its Sport Force radial motorcycle tyres. The tyres, which were sold to customers mostly in Europe, may develop a bulge in the tread during sustained high speed riding. This could cause vibration and, in the most extreme of cases, some of the tread may become detached. Savatech clarified that the problem has only been simulated in controlled and the most severe of conditions. The Sport Force recall is pre-emptive.
Tyre brand Dmack achieved the most successful motorsport weekend of its short history in July. The firm’s gravel tyres, manufactured by Shandong Yongtai, helped secure victory at a number of high-profile international championships. Drive DMACK World Rally Team crew Ott Tänak and Raigo Molder won an emphatic and popular home victory at Rally Estonia – a round of the FIA European Rally Championship. Tänak has hit a run of good form for the Drive DMACK team, having previously claimed 25 WRC2 points in Poland.
Dunlop Motorsport has used the Moto 2 and 3 mid-season break to examine the changes brought about by its 2014 tyre philosophy. The manufacturer’s 2013 rubber provided more opportunities for riders to make choices about the tyres that suited them best at a particular circuit, Dunlop’s tyre selections this year have led to very little variation in the top riders’ decisions. Clinton Howe, Dunlop’s operations manager, Motorcycle Grand Prix, explains that the manufacturer has been able to develop tyres that are harder – and therefore last longer – and more versatile without compromising on pace.
Bridgestone is supplying National Tyres’ next generation of automotive apprentices with “tyre toolbags” for a second successive year. The manufacturer says it was keen to support the vocational offering by way of a branded holdall for each learner for another year, containing a wide range of equipment to assist in both the classroom and in-branch, after first hearing about National’s pioneering NVQ level 2 training courses in 2013.
On 28 July Scotland’s Herald newspaper reported that Axle Group Holdings, the holding company behind the National Tyres and Autocare tyre retail chain and the Viking wholesale business, had reported a £2.1 million loss in its full-year 2013 figures. The headline figures were that group sales dipped from £166.3 million in 2012 to £161.5 million in 2013. And that while costs fell, 2012 profits of £3.85 million had become a £2.1 million pre-tax loss for 2013. However the complicated nature of holding company accounts suggests that this doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. Having read accounts filed at company’s house and contacted executives at Axle Group, Tyres & Accessories spoke with company founder, chairman and 60 per cent shareholder Alan Revie who spoke of strong operating results and branch expansion – even a rough goal of 300 branches.
During May’s Reifen show in Germany, Chinese tyre manufacturer Aeolus Tyre Co. Ltd placed a focus on direct contact with the tyre trade. Prior to the start of the trade exhibition, the company said “technology, marketing and the latest information on its passenger car, SUV and van tyres” would be key areas of interest, and it brought a brand new product to Essen in the form of its ‘4Seasonace’ all-season tyre. The stand was rounded out with examples of Aeolus’ latest truck and earthmover tyre technologies. Furthermore, chairman of the company’s board, Wang Feng, travelled to Essen, and during his time there he granted Tyres & Accessories an interview.
MAM Software reports that tyre dealer Paul Jarrold Tyres Ltd has experienced significant growth since using MAM Autopart Tyres, MAM Software’s flagship business management solution for the tyre industry. Paul Jarrold has now extended its operations by purchasing the premises next door as a result of opening new revenue streams and enhancing the customer experience.
Sweden’s Trelleborg AB states that its net sales increased two per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2014 to SEK 5,725 million (£490.5 million) despite a one per cent decline in organics sales. Operating profit, excluding the company’s items affecting comparability, rose by 11 per cent to SEK 802 million (£68.7 million), equivalent to an operating margin of 14.0 per cent and the group’s highest ever for a single quarter. Earnings per share rose 38 percent to SEK 1.95 (£0.17) while operating cash flow amounted to SEK 539 million (£46.2 million).
Entries for the second annual TyreSafe awards are now open, and interested parties have until 5 November to nominate organisations that help reduce tyre related road casualties for a 2014 honour.
Toyota may well have broken two records at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany, and is keen to share details of one of them. A modified, Goodyear-shod Prius has recorded the most fuel-efficient lap of the Nordschliefe. It was perhaps also the slowest lap officially recorded by a vehicle manufacturer.
Under an agreement recently signed between Michelin and Carlsson, three Michelin tyre lines are being delivered to the German tuning manufacturer as a works-fitted option for its “most powerful models”. The Pilot Sport 3, Pilot Super Sport and Pilot Sport Cup 2 ranges are supplied by the ‘Specialty Products’ department within the Michelin Motorsports division, a department set up to manage the tyre maker’s ultra high-performance car tyre business and to serve both small and large manufacturers and tuners. The Carlsson supply deal commenced on 1 July.
As Kumho Tire announced on 1 July, construction of its facility in the US state of Georgia is recommencing after a seven year delay. The tyre maker says the first tyres will be produced in the US$413 million Macon plant in early 2016, and 100 per cent of the tyres manufactured there will be supplied to OEM customers. Kumho adds that when the 4 million tyres a year capacity plant is complete, the company’s overseas manufacturing capacity will be larger than its capacity within Korea.
The World Cup is drawing to a close, but those who can’t get enough football action can take solace is the knowledge that even after Germany/Argentina (delete where applicable if reading this on Monday) has taken home the sport’s most-coveted title, a whole host of football world championship action still awaits us this month. And like the FIFA version in Brazil, it is sponsored by a tyre maker.
New data from Innocean Worldwide Europe suggests that low brand recognition levels in the European tyre markets mean challenger brands have an opportunity to step up and occupy increased market share. The research found that some 40 per cent of consumers have no idea what make of tyres is on their car – and almost half of buyers (46 per cent) spend less than five minutes in the decision making process before buying new ones. Therefore the study, which was published on 8 July, adds that because tyre brands are “failing to gain traction in the minds of consumers” this is a “golden opportunity for new challengers looking to shake up the market.”
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