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Bridgestone is planning to invest around 800 billion yen ($5.38 billion) over the three years between now and 2026, with the money earmarked for the development of electric vehicle and mining tyres along with decarbonization technologies, according to a Nikkei report.
Together with partners IFPEN and Axens, Michelin has brought an industrial scale bio-based butadiene demonstrator plant into operation in France. The facility is located at Michelin’s Bassens site near Bordeaux. The aim is to develop and commercialise butadiene from plant biomass-derived ethanol as a replacement for petrochemical-based butadiene.
Pirelli has launched the latest generation of its adventure-touring motorcycle tyre series in the Scorpion Trail III. The manufacturer describes the new tyre as the “sportiest ever on asphalt” among its Scorpion range; the tyres was designed for modern adventure and crossover motorcycles. Its versatility, the result of Pirelli R&D’s latest technologies and materials, means that the tyre is suitable for use on dirt roads as well as on asphalt. Pirelli uses the Scorpion name to indicate tyre products intended for off-road use. It is present in two- and four-wheel competitions such as the Enduro World Championship and the Motocross World Championship. Pirelli categorises the Scorpion Trail III as a street enduro tyre.
A Yorkshire farmer has praised the Michelin XMCL tyres fitted to its Claas Scorpion telehandler, after it recorded more than 7,000 hours in operation. T Grange & Son said the Scorpion is still operating on the same original equipment 460/70 R24 tyres on which it arrived at Hasling Hall Farm, Otley, in 2011. Part of Michelin’s popular Compact Line range, the XMCL offers high wear resistance thanks to a robust rubber compound.
Yokohama will expand the production capacity of Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (YTPI), by 1,800 tyres per day with an investment of 8.4 billion yen (around £45 million). As a result, the annual production capacity for the plant will reach nearly 12 million – YTPI states the daily capacity will be 32,500. The capacity increases will also be joined by an expanded size lineup at the top end of its size range. 21 and 22-inch tyres, sizes associated with performance cars and SUVs, will be added to the 13-20 inch range already produced at YTPI. Established in April 1996, YTPI manufactures Yokohama tyres primarily for export to the global market.
UK compounder SPC Rubber Group has formed a new tyre brand targeting the global motorsport market. Nova Motorsport founder and SPC Rubber managing director Paul Hallas said the company will focus “solely on low-volume racing and specialist tyres,” looking forward to announcing its first products and international partnerships in 2024. With a website and social media channels already in place, Nova will take its public bow at Retromobile – The Classic Car Show in Paris (31 January to 4 February 2024, Hall 1, Stand M-002). Nova has also recruited strong segment experience in its leadership team, including former Avon Motorsport head Paul Coates. Nova launches shortly after Goodyear’s closure of the Cooper Tire manufacturing facility in Melksham, the historical home of Avon and its motorsport operations. Nova is headquartered in Wiltshire, the same UK county as Melksham. “Nova”, as will already be apparent to those in the tyre industry, is Avon in reverse, perhaps a nod to a UK brand with a long motorsport heritage, whose future is being reconfigured under its new owner.
Continental presented its product and service portfolio for the agricultural sector at Hannover’s Agritechnica 2023 show in November. The manufacturer demonstrated its technology solutions to support farmers and manufacturers tackling today’s agricultural challenges under the tagline “Our Smart Farming. For your harvest of tomorrow.” Conti used insights gathered in its “Agriculture in Transition” study, which looked at farm operators’ attitudes in five large regional markets (Germany, France, USA, Japan and Brazil). The study confirms that most farmers take the responsibility to pursue more sustainable farming very seriously while trying to tackle the challenge of adapting to new conditions caused by environmental change. Conti’s display demonstrates how the company’s divisions are engaging with the agricultural market, including the new environmentally friendly weed control system, designed and developed by Continental Engineering Services (CES), and ContiConnect Lite, a version of its tyre pressure monitoring system that integrates with farmers’ smartphones.
The demands on the agricultural industry around the world are evolving rapidly. Spiralling cost pressures mean an uphill battle for farmers transforming their operations to feed a growing global population more sustainably. While there is substantial variance in the global market, this context means there is substantial demand for innovative, high-technology solutions for agricultural tyre supply, which increasingly transcend the boundaries of the tyre itself. Since it re-entered agricultural tyre manufacturing in 2016, Continental has supported the development of its European agricultural tyre business with heavy investment in its production line at Lousado, Portugal; Tyres & Accessories profiled the factory in the November 2023 issue. For this year’s agricultural tyre feature, T&A spoke to Tom Godwin, sales manager – agricultural for Conti in UK and Ireland, about the development of the company’s agricultural tyre business in our home markets and its strategy for taking on well-established agricultural tyre premium brands, as well as seeing the Conti TractorMaster VF in action with Dave Oldershaw Groundworks and Contracting in rural Herefordshire.
In 2023, Chinese tyre companies invested in a number of new projects. Tyrepress China's analysis found that the once popular all-steel radial tyres (generally truck tyre products) have gradually experienced overcapacity, and the new projects increasingly focus on the production capacity of semi-steel radial tyres (car and light truck products). At the same time, Chinese tyre companies pay more attention to overseas projects. In addition, consistent with the trend in 2022, OTR tyres have become an essential focus of the Chinese tyre industry.
On 15 January, Linglong disclosed its estimated net profit for 2023. The tyre manufacturer reported net profit in 2023 of between 1.35 billion yuan (approximately £148 million; €173 million) and 1.61 billion yuan (about £176 million; €206 million), a year-on-year increase of 362 per cent to 451 per cent.
A third generation of Continental supermoto tyre arrives this year, the ContiAttack SM2. Continental describes this successor to the ContiAttack SM EVO as a “pure supermoto tyre that is street legal.” It arrives from Q1 2024 and will be available in five sizes by the end of the year.
As an important manufacturing centre for China’s tyre industry, the tyre companies gathered in Dongying City, Shandong Province, have been relatively conservative in recent years and rarely build new projects. Meanwhile, many prominent local enterprises have fallen into the crisis of “interconnection and mutual protection”. Bankruptcy and reorganisation have become common occurrences in the Dongying tyre industry. On the other hand, China pursues policies of high-quality development and carbon emission control. Tyres are a high-energy-consuming industry, and it is not easy for new projects to get approval from the authorities.
By introducing a full new range of motorcycle tyres, in 2024 Michelin says it will “accomplish a major technical evolution.” It unveiled the first three of these products at the EICMA show in Italy last November. The new year gets underway with these products’ market debut.
On 12 January, Jiangsu General held an expansion ceremony for its Cambodian factory expansion project. If we look at the time, the tyre manufacturer just held its shareholders’ meeting on January 12 and approved the proposal to expand the production capacity of its Cambodian production base. Jiangsu General has previously disclosed that the Cambodian factory expansion project is expected to be put into production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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