Fears that UK motorists will steer clear of this month's '13' registration plate for new cars are unfounded, say CAP – the car information experts. Nor does the company believe superstitious motorists will cause increased depreciation via reduced demand for 13 plate cars by avoiding them in the future used car market.
The association representing India’s tyre makers has expressed its opposition to a government decision to increase import duty on rubber. In a statement, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association Anant Goenka said any such decision “will have far-reaching and adverse consequences on tyre industry and its long-term impact will be felt on the entire value chain of rubber sector.”
Chicane, has boosted its media relations team with the appointment of Chris Wakley as a consultant. Wakley brings with him 35 years of automotive media relations experience and will assist Chicane with further developing its media relations offerings to automotive businesses as well as to the agency’s existing client base.
Automotive supplier Continental has already conducted trials with a ‘driverless car’ in the US, and now the firm will further its work in this field through a research partnership with the BMW Group. Under this arrangement, the two German companies will pool their development capacities to define the long-term prerequisites for introducing highly automated driving on European motorways.
So you’ve accumulated a decent amount of ‘friends’ on Facebook, but how many fans do you have? Nitto Tire U.S.A. has more – in fact, the brand has hit the 3 million fan mark. Half a million of these signed on within the last two months.
Two new automotive cleaning products have been launched under the Britemax brand name. Grime Out is designed to dissolve brake dust, engine grease, embedded dirt in rubber, bugs, tar, salt and hard water spots on glass. According to Britemax it performs where traditional cleaners fail, “turning tyres black and white walls and white lettering bright white.”
The All India Tyre Dealers' Federation (AITDF) has approached the country’s Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT), a body that handles appeals against any decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), regarding the clean bill of health the CCI gave tyre makers when it investigated cartelisation claims. Last October the CCI found no evidence of cartelisation in the tyre industry, and thus dismissed a complaint filed by the AITDF. The manufacturers in question, Apollo Tyres, MRF, JK Tyre, Ceat and Birla Tyres, along with the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association, faced no penalty. These five manufacturers are said to control 95 per cent of India’s domestic tyre market.
For the final quarter of 2012, Nexen Tire has reported sales of KRW 411 billion (£240.1 million), a year-on-year increase of 2.4 per cent, KRW 24 billion (£14.0 million) in operating income, a 90.1 per cent increase on Q4 2011, a 5.7 per cent operating margin and net profit of KRW 21 billion (£12.3 million), up 12.1 per cent year-on-year.
Under a new partnership agreement, T. Hansen Gruppen A/S will take on responsibility for distributing the Westlake passenger car tyre range in Denmark. The Danish tyre, automotive spare part, rim and camping equipment specialist is one of the country’s largest consumer market suppliers and sells its products through online portals, mail order and nearly ninety retail outlets. The company employs approximately 700 people.
Quinton Hazell Automotive Limited's administrators and its parent company Klarius Group have announced 117 redundancies at the QH Glasson Dock site in Lancaster and 79 redundancies at the QH Colwyn Bay site in North Wales. Both sites have ceased to operate. The news follows the announcement of the sale of the firm's Cheadle operation earlier today (which secured jobs there) and the closure of the QH distribution business in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Klarius Group Limited put its Quinton Hazell Automotive Limited (QH) into administration on 6 February 2013. Following their appointment, the administrators reached an agreement to sell the Klarius emissions business based at Cheadle, Staffordshire to Klarius Products Limited, preserving 234 jobs. The deal will formally complete during the course of 7 February (today). In addition, the intellectual property rights relating to the QH business were sold separately to Tetrosyl I-Tec Limited, part of Tetrosyl Limited.
In the three months to 31 December 2012, Apollo Tyres Ltd’s net sales grew 9.4 per cent to Rs 97.57 billion (£1.17 billion), while net profit jumped 86.1 per cent to 1.8 billion (£21.63 million). Operating profit for the third quarter of Apollo’s 2012-13 financial year amounted to Rs 4.1 billion (£49.27 million), up from Rs 3.3 billion a year earlier.
Michelin expects its business to gain momentum in China in the coming years, propelled by a fast increase in vehicle sales. This was the word from Philippe Verneuil, president of Michelin China, upon the opening of the company’s $1.5 billion factory in Shenyang. The facility’s opening has been reported by the China Daily, which writes that the Shenyang plant, Michelin’s largest factory in the world, has an annual capacity of more than 12 million car, truck and bus tyres.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has confirmed it will focus on the UK automotive supply chain at its Open Forum event, taking place on 21 March 2013 in the West Midlands. The first speaker session will focus on the Automotive Council’s achievements to date and work going forward to strengthen the supply chain as well as activities undertaken by government. Members of the Automotive Council's Technology Group and Supply Chain Group will highlight the progress being made by the two key workstreams.
Standards Testing Laboratories, Inc. (STL), has been recognized as the testing source to test drag race wheels to meet SFI Foundation, Inc. (SFI) specifications. SFI is a non-profit organization established to issue and administer standards for specialty/performance automotive and racing equipment. The organization has a formal relationship with more than 200 race sanctioning bodies, providing an SFI standard compliance label for use on race-related products.
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