4×4 Tyres
Grouptyre’s latest prize draw promotion, in conjunction with Pirelli, has been won by Tyre Technician Sean O’Connor from Southampton Audi, part of the Harwoods Group based along the South Coast. O’Connor and his chosen guest Lee enjoyed the weekend’s action on 7-8 July at the 2012 Formula One Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with overnight accommodation close to the circuit, and full hospitality at the event.
Cooper Tires has added its new A/T3 tyre to its Discoverer range of 4×4 tyres. The tyre’s modern six-rib all-terrain design is engineered to provide performance both for on-road and off road driving. The A/T3 tread pattern includes a broken centre and dual draft angles on the tread to aid soft surface traction. Strategically-placed lateral groove protectors on the tread help motorists avoid stone retention and ‘drilling’. It provides solid all-terrain handling, superior all-weather traction, stability and reliable tread wear.
Following the news that Pirelli is to receive funding from the UK government’s regional growth fund, Tyres & Accessories visited Pirelli’s Carlisle tyre manufacturing plant and met with industrial director, Paulo Batistini and engineering manager, Alan Wilson in order to find what this and other recent investments mean in practice.
While no official figures have been released, based on the fact that £950 million of government money is being supplied to 119 British business on the proviso that taxpayer funding is matched 5:1 with private investment it is a fair guess to assume that Pirelli is pushing millions towards the development of the latest generation of eco-tyres in Carlisle. And this fits with the company’s wider strategy. Pirelli’s latest industrial plan, published in November 2011, has the stated aim of leading what it defines as the premium market by 2015. With this in mind, the recent developments which centre on transitioning the plant towards to almost exclusively high performance output (and therefore high value products) are to be expected.
Marangoni Tyre states it is the only tyre brand to be exclusively manufactured in Italy, and the company is emphasising this fact in a new advertising campaign. The new "A unique journey, 100% made in Italy" campaign highlights the “Italian-ness” of Marangoni Tyre’s passenger car, light commercial vehicle and 4×4 tyres, a range that is conceived designed, tested and made at the company’s plant in Anagni, near Rome, and also produced on Marangoni’s MTM production line in its Rovereto plant.
Delticom is expanding its influence in the fleet market with the expansion of German operation Flotten24 and the introduction of Dutch and French versions. "In our online shops there are quality tyres for nearly every vehicle to meet every demand, including the current test winners", says Christian Schild, Key Account Manager Fleets at Delticom.
Delticom is now offering Mickey Thompson branded 4×4 tyres through its mytyres.co.uk consumer and professional yourtyres.co.uk websites.
Goodyear Wrangler AT/SA tyres have been chosen by The Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative – part of the Wild Foundation in South Africa – as the tyre of choice for its vehicles. The initiative champions anti-poaching activities in several regions of south-eastern Africa.
Following the launch of its award-winning EfficientGrip passenger car tyre, Goodyear chose Portugal to showcase its new EfficientGrip SUV tyre, aimed squarely at the 4×4 and SUV market, from luxury, full-size vehicles through standard, compact and sub-compact ranges. The 4×4/SUV market in Europe is growing and is expected to reach several million vehicles by 2014, meaning increased demand for specialised 4×4/SUV tyres which combine performance and fuel economy.
Bavarian off-road specialist delta4x4 technicians were “taken aback” recently when asked to fit a large set of wheels to a Yeti. No they hadn’t discovered an immobile abominable snowman. Instead young woman customer was requesting the biggest possible wheels for her Skoda Yeti. However, while there were no actual mythical creatures involved, there does seem to have been a hint of the green-eyed monster. Apparently her motivation was to outdo her husband who drives an Audi Q7 with 20 inch wheels.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd will exhibit its latest and “most innovative” 4×4, ultra high performance passenger car and motorcycle ranges at Reifen 2012. The company (Hall 3, Stand 241) will bring new products from both its Cooper and Avon brands to the annual international tyre fair in order to showcase the strides being made in tyre development and technology, including design work conducted at its European Technical Centre in Melksham, UK. The Cooper display will feature the newest Discoverer S/TMAXX and the Discoverer A/T3 4×4 tyres, while Avon will be represented by its ZZ5 UHP passenger car tyre, launched last year to complement the ZZ3, as well as its brand-new 3D Ultra range of motorcycle tyres.
The March 2012 edition of Tyres & Accessories, which contains features on the international wholesaling business and 4×4 tyres. To find out how to read the virtual magazine copy of this issue, just click more…
Australian mining tyre supplier Global Tyre Management Services has reportedly entered administration. Business news site SmartCompany.com.au shares information from Deloitte Australia regarding the Maroochydore, Queensland-based firm’s fate; Deloitte partner Richard Hughes said the company ceased trading on 4 April. Its assets, including trucks, tyres, forklifts and property, will most likely be sold off, and the company’s staff of less than ten faces redundancy.
The Geneva-based Salon International de l'Auto, better known to us as the International Motor Show, wound up yesterday. This year the show and its more than 850 vehicles on display attracted some 702,000 visitors. In addition to presentations from major and specialist vehicle manufacturers, tuners and appearances by celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, a handful of tyre makers maintained a presence in Geneva and showed off their latest products alongside up and coming technologies.
Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci Tyre Manufacturing and Trading Inc tyre brand Lassa is presenting its products on a 75m2 stand at the Geneva International Motor Show. Halit Şensoy, director of Lassa International Sales and Marketing says the show “provides an excellent opportunity for us in order to share the technology, design and philosophy behind our brand.” Visitors to Lassa’s stand can see the brand’s range of summer and winter tyres, its new range of ultra high performance and 4×4 tyres and its light truck and van products. Lassa said the main focuses of the stand are the Phenoma, Lassa’s sports tyre, and the Competus H/P, for passenger cars of all sizes.
At next week’s Auto Salon in Geneva, Apollo Tyres is unveiling its latest UHP summer passenger car tyre. Known as the Aspire 4G, the new range will be available in W and Y speed ratings. Further details will be available following the tyre’s official launch on 7 March.
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