Bentley could use a diesel engine for the first time in its history in the SUV which was recently confirmed for production.
Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show, CEO Dr Wolfgang Schreiber said: "We will investigate a diesel engine. In that platform (the Bentley will share its underpinnings with the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and VW Touareg) a diesel engine will be implemented, anyway, so it could make sense. The numbers in Europe could be very high."
The Al Dobowi Group, UK importer of Linglong TBR tyres, has announced a new distribution partnership with Essex’s G&S Tyre Services. Al Dobowi says G&S has developed a reputation for providing an exemplary level of service to the UK fleet market and demanding vehicle operators, while G&S identified Linglong as a brand with UK market potential.
Perhaps more renowned for its car and bike ranges, Maxxis provides a solution for a wide variety of long and medium haul applications, manufactured with a tread compound intended to increase durability and shoulders designed using Virtual Intelligent Prototyping (VIP) technology to reduce wear. Maxxis explains that its VIP technology combines a series of computer-aided analysis programs that lay out a framework for each tyre’s design. The system factors in pressure points at varying inflation levels and contact points to simulate cornering, acceleration, braking and the effects of strain and wear.
Cabot Corporation has said that its Chinese “output capacity” will rise 25 per ecnt along with the operation of a plant in Xingtai, Hebei province. However the company is also quoted by local news sources as saying that it will not seek to go public and make acquisitions in China.
“The Bluefield Coal Show is held every two years and is the top regional show for underground mining in the country,” said Tim Easter, YTC director, OTR sales. “It’s the perfect locale to highlight our new mining tyres to the coal industry.”
Trelleborg has announced plans to launch what it calls ProgressiveTraction technology with a feature at the forthcoming Agritechnica 2013 exhibition which is due to take place from 10 to 16 November in Hannover, Germany. The technology is designed to improve grip and weight distribution, while also improving wear and fuel consumption performance.
A spokesperson from Cooper Tire & Rubber’s head office in the US has confirmed to Tyres & Accessories that the Cooper Chengshan joint venture plant, which has now resumed production following strike action, is not manufacturing any Cooper-branded products at the present time; the tyres currently produced at the Rongcheng facility are exclusively other-branded products.
It appears the strike at the Cooper Chengshan factory in China is over, and the 5,000 workers are back at their jobs and producing tyres. Details of how the strike was resolved are not yet known.
Upon reporting its first quarter 2013 financials on 19 August, China’s Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc. also shared that it intends to add to the company’s Solution Polymerised Styrene Butadiene Rubber. “The increasing market demand in tyre and auto parts has resulted in increasing market demand for styrene, ABS and SSBR,” The company added that “rather than focusing on optimising the current utilisation rates for its different facilities,” it has decided upon expanding capacity through a number of projects, including a new SSBR plant.
Operations at Bridgestone Asia Pacific’s new technical centre are now underway following its official opening on 13 August. During the opening ceremony, Bridgestone’s senior vice-president Yoshiyuki Morimoto stated that the new Bridgestone Asia Pacific Technical Center – the Japanese company’s first in the region, excluding Japan and China – will provide technical support across the region and will enable Bridgestone to more quickly respond to customer needs.
In its financial results for the March to June quarter – the first quarter of its current financial year – JK Tyre posted a net profit of Rs 540.4 million (£5.7 million), a year-on-year increase of 265.9 per cent. Quarter net sales came to Rs 18,669.4 (£196.0 million), 3.3 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2012.
YHI reports that its expanding Malaysia factory has gained some new OE deals including one with Proton as part of its strategy to grow its aftermarket and OEM businesses in Malaysia and wider region. According to YHI, the contract is to supply alloy wheels to Proton for its Satroa Meo R3, Global Small Cars and Saga FLX models. This order of alloy wheels will be manufactured at the Group’s Malaysia plant.
Pirelli will gain a controlling share of the Kirov and Voronezh tyre factories in Russia by increasing its stake in the joint venture it operates with Russian corporation Rostec and financial group GHP. The tyre maker will repurchase from GHP 15 per cent of shares from the package that used to belong to Fleming Family & Partners, thus increasing its share to 65 per cent.
Starco reports that its Russia-based business, Starco Eastern Group, has moved into new and larger facilities in St. Petersburg. The operation’s new central warehouse has been established on a greenfield site within ten minutes drive from the St. Petersburg ring road; Starco says the move has brought its supply chain closer to its customers, and the new warehouse will simplify compliance with import procedures.
Dunlop’s soft compound Sport Maxx tyre, added to the British Touring Car Championship as an option for nine out of the ten rounds, has added a new dimension to the racing in this year’s series. Of the 15 races at which the soft tyre has been made available, six victories have been claimed on the tyre, including two on Sunday at Snetterton, while the medium version has been used to win eight. The final race at Croft was won by Matt Neal on the Dunlop BluResponse wet tyre. Dunlop has been very satisfied by the results of its winter development, having been asked to provide an option tyre with increased grip but reduced durability by series organiser TOCA.
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