VW Caddy models supplied with 16- and 17-inch rims will be available with Continental all-season tyres as original equipment. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is equipping the Caddy with the AllSeasonContact in sizes 205/60 R16 96H XL and 215/55 R17 98H XL. It has also approved the Continental EcoContact 6 summer tyre for the Caddy in size 215/55 R17 98H XL.
The latest Michelin all-season tyre for SUVs has been launched in European markets. Arriving from 1 May, Michelin says the CrossClimate 2 SUV is targeted at “drivers seeking a safe ride first and foremost, regardless of the SUV category.” It adds that this “new generation of four-season tyres” combines “multiple performances” and allows drivers to “contend with the majority of weather conditions, no matter the season.” CrossClimate 2 SUV is available at launch in 40 dimensions for 17- to 20-inch rim diameters.
During 2020, the whole of the sell-out market declined albeit not as badly as was feared. Still, with the exception of some distinct niches – such as instances in the logistics industry where tyre service providers were kept busy throughout the lockdowns – everyone was affected. SUV tyres were no different and saw overall value and volume figures fall 12 per cent, according to market analyst GfK’s January to December 2020 panelmarket data. 2021, however, was almost the mirror image of 2020 with the value of UK 4×4 and SUV tyre sales up 12 per cent compared with the equivalent full-year 2020 data. In other words, SUV tyre sales returned to growth mode in 2021, something that sets 2022 up for an even better year for those selling SUV and 4×4 tyres.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has selected Apollo Tyres’ latest Vredestein Quatrac all-season tyre as original equipment for the new Caddy. It will fit the Quatrac in 205/65R15 99H XL to selected Caddy models manufactured at the Volkswagen production facility in Poznan, Poland.
Red Dot isn’t announcing its Product Design 2022 winners until 20 June, but Nexen Tire have let us in on the secret that two of its products are awardees. The Nexen N’Blue 4 Season 2 and N’Blue 4 Season Van are winners in the Product Design category this year.
Continental is introducing a further five AllSeasonContact dimensions, and these tyres are the first in the range to offer an EU label rating of A for fuel efficiency. Furthermore, four of the five new sizes are XL rated for heavier loads; Continental says this combination “makes the tyre the ideal retrofit option for electric vehicles, as it can carry the higher average weight and extend the range of e-vehicles.”
Hankook will launch a new line of speciality electric vehicle tyres in May 2022. The line of Hankook iON tyres is developed to offer reduced rolling resistance and therefore an increase in range, lower tyre noise for more comfort, and higher resilience to deal with the higher torque of electric vehicles. The Korean manufacturer said that it is launching the iON line as a contribution to the transition towards zero emission vehicles. The iON line will be available initially in three designs for summer, winter, and all-season applications – the latter in North America, but with European seasonal fitments – in sizes between 18 and 22 inches. The tyres will respectively be launched as the Hankook Ventus iON S summer tyre pattern, the Hankook Winter i*cept iON (from September 2022), and the Hankook Ventus iON A. In addition to supplying its tyres to EV manufacturers and launching an EV tyre line in its domestic South Korean market, Hankook has recently aligned itself with a range of electric mobility projects, such as its title sponsorship of the inaugural Top Gear EV Awards in 2021. Hankook adds that further specific product designs are in the pipeline.
From 1 March, motorhome drivers keen to extend the camping season beyond the summer months have a new tyre option in the form of the Michelin CrossClimate Camping. By summer 2022 Michelin will offer the tyre in eight dimensions, a line-up that covers 99 per cent of the market.
Continental has launched a new all-season tyre for airport ground handling vehicles, the ContiRV20 All Season. The tyre is produced in Continental’s facility for industrial material Handling tyres in Otrokovice, Czech Republic, and is available in 16-inch and 16.5-inch sizes.
International contract tyre producer SD International is expanding its range of private brand Zeta car and SUV tyres. The range now includes seven models, with runflat, all-season and winter options for extended mobility joining the key Alventi and Impero lines of summer tyres.
As of this month, BFGoodrich is offering a new all-season tyre for vans and light commercial vehicles, the BFGoodrich Activans 4S. It describes this as a tyre that “responds perfectly to the expectations of professionals seeking safety and simplicity” by ensuring safety on the road all year round.
The 2021 recovery of the UK car, SUV and van tyre (Light Vehicle) replacement market may not have been the desired quick return to pre-pandemic numbers, but GfK data supplied exclusively to Tyres & Accessories gives us some idea of how 2019 market growth areas have preserved continuity through the last two Covid-afflicted years. Tyres designed for the larger rims of higher performance and newer car models, SUV and light commercial vehicle tyres, and tyres offering performance in all seasons continued to grow at quicker rates than the whole UK replacement tyre market. These overall figures, shown in the top left-hand corner of the infographic, show that unit sales increased by three per cent within the panelmarket – similar figures comparing 2020 with 2019 published in February 2021 showed that unit sales contracted by 14 per cent for comparison. Meanwhile, the value of the UK’s Light Vehicle tyre market rose by seven per cent according to the panelmarket. GfK’s panelmarket data tracks points of sale around the UK to indicate aftermarket tyre trends – the data used for this article compares January-December 2021 to full-year 2020.
An all-season product has joined the Avon Tyres van tyre line-up. The brand is introducing the Avon AS12 All Season in ten sizes for 15- and 16-in rim diameters. All dimensions are 3PMSF accredited.
Nexen Tire is an original equipment supplier to the VW Golf in the UK and Europe, and in other markets it is also supplying a Volkswagen model no longer sold here. The facelifted version of the seventh-generation VW Jetta will come with Nexen tyres as original equipment. Nexen Tire shares that it will supply its Nexen N’Fera AU7 all-season performance tyre as original equipment for the VW saloon.
A pilot project that Continental began with Share Now in late 2020 is progressing into a broader partnership that will see the car sharing firm’s Danish vehicle fleet fitted with Continental AllSeasonContact tyres and monitored under a Conti360° Solutions contract. The partnership includes new innovations, including algorithm-based, real-time tread depth monitoring.
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