Asia
With South Korean replacement car tyre sales of over 8.6 million units worth US$800.9 billion last year, the replacement tyre business joins the rest of the automotive industry in being a major part of the entire local economy. According to GfK’s automotive retail audit sales in second half of the year climbed 15 per cent over first half and nearly 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2009.
Continental AG has taken a step towards the Indian market after the tyre manufacturer and automotive supplier signed an agreement with Modi Rubber Ltd to acquire a 100 per cent shareholding of its Modi Tyres Company Limited subsidiary. According to both companies, the completion of the transaction still depends on the fulfilment of certain conditions including regulatory requirements. At the completion of the transaction, Modi Tyres Company Limited will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Continental Group.
Michelin has been selected to develop and supply tyres for the first commercial airliner to be designed in China, the Comac C919. The tyre maker reports the contract with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China grew out of an alliance created in November 2009. Comac intends to have the first prototype C919 in the air by 2014 and Michelin will supply its Air X radial to the 150 to 200 seat single-aisle segment airliner. The C919 is expected to enter commercial service in 2016, with sales of the airliner initially targeted at China’s domestic market.
Pirelli has consolidated the “green” side of its range of tyres with the launch of the company’s new Cinturato P1 tyre, designed for small to medium-sized vehicles. The tyre was launched at an event in Fasano, near Brindisi in the picturesque environs of south-east Italy. Tyres & Accessories travelled to the launch to test-drive the tyre at its world premiere by the European media in Puglia, on a route winding through olive tree plantations, beautiful villages punctuated by old agricultural storehouse (or trulli) and the Adriatic coast. The P1 provides strikingly quiet running, with a reduction of around 30 per cent – or one decibel – on the tyre’s predecessor, the Cinturato P4, while improving rolling resistance was also an important factor in the tyre’s development, with reductions of up to 25 per cent quoted by the company. It has not escaped the attentions of Pirelli that both characteristics will be two of the three featured ratings on the EU’s mandatory tyre label, coming into force in 2012.
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New research suggests that Thailand is home to some 3,200 tyre shops. And what’s more roughly 50 per cent of fast fits are based in the Thai capital of Bangkok. According to research, which was conducted by well known market data analysts GfK, the automotive industry is on a roll, particularly in Thailand, which recorded a 47-month high of domestic automobile sales last November.
In response GfK recently launched its automotive business in Thailand, tracking sales of replacement passenger car tyres and batteries. According to GfK’s latest findings, while tyre specialists are “uniformly spread out across the country,” fast fit outlets make up a third of all shops and are more commonly found in Bangkok area where demand tends to be higher compared to the other regions.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it will increase the prices of its export tyre products starting from April 2011, due to sharply rising raw material costs. The price increases will apply to all tyre products for passenger cars, light trucks, trucks and buses, and vehicles for construction and industry, for all markets outside Japan. The company said it will “endeavour to hold the increase within a maximum of 15 per cent, but higher prices may be necessary for specific regions or products.”
The secretary general of the influential International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) has predicted strong global demand for tyres through to the end of the decade. Speaking at the opening of Tyrexpo Asia 2011 in Singapore on 29 March 2011 Dr Stephen Evans said:
“Our forecasts point to a sustained growth and strong demand for new vehicles and tyres through to the end of the decade. Much of the extra demand will originate from China and to a lesser extend India, but from an overall perspective the years through to 2020 will be a period of opportunity for tyre makers and the replacement and service sectors.”
Disagreement between members of the Kumho Tyre Workers’ Union (KMWU) and the South Korean tyre maker has led to disruptions in production at factories located in Gwangju and Gyeonggi provinces. Union members set the ball rolling with a one-day strike on March 25. Upon their return, the 3,400 employees at the two plants were apparently asked to sign individual agreements pledging not to strike. A lockout was then announced.
During a visit to Japan’s Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, Toyo Tire & Rubber’s president and CEO Kenji Nakakura personally presented an aid donation from the company to Yoshihiro Murai, governor of Miyagi Prefecture, and to the Prefectural Government Office in Fukushima. In total, Toyo has donated 150 million yen (£1.1 million) to assist with relief efforts.
The second quarter of 2011 will begin with price increases for a number of Continental Tires’ products in the Asia-Pacific replacement market. Prices of Continental branded passenger and light truck tyres will rise by up to five per cent, while truck and bus radials will be subject to price increases of up to six per cent. Other Continental owned brands face increases of up to nine per cent. The tyre maker says specific details of percentage increases and the timing of their introduction will be “communicated locally across the region.” In announcing the increases, Continental points to the rising costs of raw materials as the primary reason behind its need to review prices.
Tyre production at Bridgestone’s Nasu factory in Tochigi Prefecture got underway on March 25, two weeks after the earthquake in Japan. Output at the plant, which holds the capacity to product 2,600 tons of passenger car, motorcycle tyres and other tyres per month, will increase gradually as electricity restrictions are lifted and “other issues” resolved. The Nasu plant’s return to production means that all Bridgestone factories in Japan affected by the earthquake are now back in production.
A further step towards normality was achieved at Toyo Tire & Rubber’s Sendai factory in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture yesterday with the resumption of limited shipments of tyres from the plant a day after production was restarted. Toyo reiterates that production and deliveries will continue to be “on a restricted basis” for the time being due to the limited availability of electricity, fuel and raw materials, and the disruptions from the still-recovering transportation system. Production at Sendai will continue to rise, Toyo assures its customers, and will return to the correct level “at the earliest possible date.”
More than a week after the Japan earthquake caused widespread power outages and disruption to manufacturing in parts of the main island of Honshu, Toyo Tires and Sumitomo Rubber have recommenced production at factories located in affected areas.
Motorsport is viewed by Yokohama Rubber as a “key aspect its efforts to develop its global tyre business,” and with this in mind the Japanese tyre maker says it will “strive to increase the degree of recognition of the Yokohama tyre brand through a wide range of motor sports activities in Japan and around the world.” On March 24 the company announced its global motorsport plans for 2011.
Every year for the almost two decades General Motors has acknowledged its best global automotive suppliers at its Supplier of the Year awards. These awards recognise superior performance in four key areas, namely innovative quality, superior quality, outstanding launch support and competitive total enterprise cost. On twelve prior occasions Bridgestone Corporation has been bestowed an award, and at the 19th annual awards ceremony on March 10 thirteen proved to be a lucky number for the tyre maker – Takashi Urano, vice president and senior officer of Bridgestone Corporation, accepted the tyre maker’s thirteenth award on behalf of the company.
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