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When it comes to the development of the 4×4 tyre segment, there are still two sides to the market, according to a Continental UK analysis. But on one side at least there are clear signs of the car-ification of 4×4 tyre line, something that has developed in parallel with continued purchase of SUV type four wheelers.
Reporting financial results for the quarter ending 31 December, 2010, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co saw its operating profit diminish to $55 million, $5 million down on the same quarter in 2009, though it also achieved record net sales of $920 million, $147 million, or 19 per cent, up on 2009. Roy Armes, CEO, commented that while demand for the company’s products was strong and manufacturing facilities were run “efficiently”, raw materials prices and the available inventory had limited progress in terms of operating profit. Operating profit was $55 million, or 5.9 percent of net sales.
KRT has been marketing and distributing tyres for the past four decades having become one of the largest independent tyre distributors in the UK and Ireland. According to the company, 4×4/SUV tyres are a “very important part” of their growing business, which became a new focus when the company added the Cooper range of Light Truck, 4×4 and SUV tyres to their line up 10 years ago. During this time the Cooper brand name has reportedly grown dramatically. And the range of fitments and patterns in the Cooper portfolio enables KRT to cover “the majority of every requirement.”
Jarno Trulli, driving for the Lotus team in the 2011 Formula One season, has suggested that sole tyre supplier Pirelli’s PZero Formula One tyres have “[missed] something in development, because the tyres aren’t balanced yet.” While Pirelli has stated its satisfaction with the current tyre and the quicker wear-rate so far experienced is a deliberate feature to encourage more tactical tussling between the teams. However, veteran driver Trulli believes that: “tyre wear is secondary compared to the tyre's balance problems, because at the moment you get on the track with a new tyre that initially is understeering, and after three laps the behaviour is the opposite, that is impossible oversteering."
At the launch at the IAA in September 2010 of Bridgestone’s latest range of truck tyres under the Ecopia brand, Europe CEO Mac Ohashi said a range of Ecopia retread patterns would follow for the M749 and R109 drive and trailer tyres. The former was released through the company’s European Bandag dealer network in January 2011 as a replacement for the Qualitread M749, while the company says the R109 Ecopia retread – a completely new product previously unavailable in the exiting Qualitread range – will follow later in the year. Tyres & Accessories spoke to Bridgestone Europe’s TBR/Retread Business Unit about the development of the Ecopia retread range and how it is presented to the market.
Four of the top ten finishers at the GMF Motor Factors Wydean Forest Rally on 12 February were shod with Kumho R800 gravel rally tyres, the Korean manufacturer reports. They included the Peugeot Cosworth of Andy Burton and Robin Kellard, which took the top podium spot, and the Mitsubishi Evo IX of David Wright and Michael Wilkinson that was fourth overall and first in class B13.
Serge Lafon, Michelin’s executive director of Agricultural Tyres World says that the company’s SIMA 2011 line-up provides “tangible proof of Michelin’s strategic commitment to enhancing the productivity of farmers and farming companies and boosting their bottom line.” The stand is presenting the CerexBib for harvesters, the SprayBib for row-crop sprayers and the AxioBib in a new size – IF900/60R42 – the market’s only 2.15-metre flotation tyre with “Improved Flexion”. Michelin says its tyres deliver “enhanced soil protection, considerably lower fuel consumption and greater longevity”, helping farms to be more profitable.
While the UK economy as a whole has taken a battering over the past two years or more, the overall size of the passenger car tyre market has remained relatively stable, which is good news for the 4x4 sector too.
In 2010 the UK car, 4x4 and van tyre market totalled some 33 million units. There is always some dispute about the precision of figures like this – the argument usually focuses on questions like Where do you draw the line between 4x4 and four-wheel Navarro-style van? Do the figures include grey imports? How many part worn tyres are sold each year? and how do you know that?
But while you can determine what you define a 4x4 tyre as by product size, there will always be a degree of uncertainty when it comes to things like grey imports and part worn sales. The received wisdom is that annual part worn sales total something like 2 million tyres a year, but there is some support for the figure being considerably higher during 2009 and 2010 due to increased cost pressure on motorists during the credit crunch.
Tesco’s 13 million customers will be able to quadruple their Clubcard points for the first time on a single purchase following the launch of Tesco-Tyres.com. Tesco has joined forces with Blackcircles.com to launch the motoring venture that could see customers earn over 2300 Clubcard points on purchases of Pirelli, Yokohama and Hankook tyres. Double Clubcard points are being offered on all other brands.
In order to controlling the costs of waste management OTR has introduced a Tyre Hire programme designed to “remove the complexity of tyre management.” As OTR’s waste industry manager Steve Clipperton said “Our Tyre Hire service is both affordable and convenient. Budgeting is precise, giving the customer fixed monthly costs”.
National haulier James Nuttall (Transport) is moving its truck fleet on to Michelin’s Energy tyres following outstanding results from a year-long trial. The company is seeking ways to reduce costs, and with the increases in fuel prices, the company has devoted some attention to ways in which consumption can be lowered. The transport operator reports that it recorded a 5.08 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency when using Michelin’s XZA 2 Energy and XDA 2 Energy tyres compared to the fleet’s existing XZE 2+ and XDE 2+ fitments, which are principally designed for regional haulage. Performance was measured using two identical Scania R 420 6×2 tractor units.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has called for community nurses working in rural parts of the Scottish Highlands to be provided winter tyres as standard in the colder months.
Currently the nurses have to pay for the tyres themselves under car leasing agreements. Ms Grant, the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands said it was "ludicrous" nurses were having to foot the bill.
The first round of the 2011 World Rally Championship has yielded a win in the production car category (PWRC) for Dmack Tyres at its debut event. Czech driver Martin Semerad used the brand’s DMG-ICE tyre to seal what Dmack describes as “a dream start” in Sweden. In the S2000 category Martin Prokop also secured second place on Dmack rubber. Dmack is lined up beside global tyre giant Michelin as the only two tyre manufacturers authorised to supply rubber to WRC competitors.
Following the conclusion of the official Formula One group test, held in Jerez, Pirelli reports its PZero tyres have enjoyed “another faultless run.” The four days of testing at the Spanish circuit presented the opportunity to present the full range of Pirelli tyres, although the wide variety of medium to high speed corners at Jerez meant that the supersoft tyres saw very little action and the teams instead favoured the soft, medium and hard compounds.
Walsall based Parry’s International’s transport manager Mark Ramsden has reported a marked reduction in noise levels and a softer ride from coaches fitted with Continental’s HSL and HDL tyres, took careful note. Parry’s International runs an 11-strong fleet is made up of 14-metre, tri-axle Van Hool T917 Astron touring coaches specified to the highest level of luxury and its latest investment is worth in the region of half a million pounds.
“We had been using another premium tyre brand but supply problems led Van Hool to ask us if they could fit Continentals,” Ramsden explained, adding: “This provided an opportunity to compare performance and we were immediately impressed. Our drivers said that they noticed a significant lowering of noise levels and they also felt that the overall ride was better.
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