In light of the Russia-Ukraine war, Nokian has established a crisis management team to safeguard staff and production at its Vsevolozhsk, Saint Petersburg, Russia tyre factory and is relocating the production of certain tyre lines to Finland and the US. Nokian employs 1,600 people in Russia. Net sales in the company’s Russia & Asia business unit amounted to 336 million euros in 2021.
Continental’s new SportContact 7 won its first independent tyre test when Tyre Reviews made it the winner of its 2022 Ultra High-Performance test. The new model improves on the sixth generation SportContact with braking distances eight per cent shorter in the wet and six per cent shorter in the dry. Peter Robb, marketing director at Continental, said: “What a win for the SportContact 7! With the success of its predecessor, this result is evidence of Continental’s commitment to producing class-leading high performance tyres. We are thrilled with the win, especially as it is the first tyre test for the new tyre.”
Tyre comparison website Tyre Reviews has put ten popular tyres for performance cars to the test, making the brand-new Continental SportContact 7 a winner in its first outing on the independent assessment circuit. Reviewer Jonathan Benson fitted the ten tyre combinations to a BMW-powered Toyota Supra in sizes 255/35 R19 (front) and 275/35 R19 (rear) for the test, which he conducted over nine disciplines at Conti’s Contidrom facility. Given that the tyre was proven at the circuit, and is at least 12 months newer than any other product in this test, it is perhaps a little unsurprising that the SportContact 7 prevailed, but with reasonably comfortable first-place finishes in the dry and wet handling and braking tests, Tyre Reviews concludes that the tyre sets “a new standard for the UUHP segment.”
One consequence of car manufacturers seeking to improve their eco scores is that they have taken drastic steps to reduce the weight of the vehicles they produce. With that in mind, spare tyre and wheel assemblies have increasingly been seen as, well, a spare wheel in the life of the average motor. And that’s made many marques call the need for the common-or-garden spare tyre into question.
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.
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.
The past two years have given plenty of reason to be optimistic about the speed of the electrification of the car parc. In the UK plug-in electric vehicle sales have grown market share quickly, rising to 18.5 per cent of new car registrations in the UK in 2021, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Add in hybrids, and this figure was over a quarter (27.5 per cent) last year. The new car market has faced severe headwinds with component shortages and other effects of the pandemic, leading to only one percent growth compared to the year of the most severe pandemic restrictions in 2020. Meanwhile EVs have benefitted from favourable consumer perception and government-backed schemes, leading to growth where other segments have faltered. With schemes due to expire and bottlenecking in the rollout of chargepoints, there could be more turbulence for new EV sales coming, yet current projections show that confidence in the EV segment is relatively high.
Kumho is bringing the follow-up to its highly rated Ecsta HS51 to the replacement tyre market in 2022. The Ecsta HS52 will be available from Kumho dealers this spring. The tyre, the latest in the Korean tyre manufacturer’s Ecsta range for performance cars comes after its predecessor’s triumph in Auto Bild’s March 2021 summer tyre test, when it topped a list of 53 candidates. By the end of 2022 the HS52 will be available in 46 sizes to fit rim diameters between 14 and 18 inches.
In the USA, Vee Tyre and Rubber Co Ltd is recalling 1782 Tri-Ace branded tyres due to a defect. Two sizes of the Tri-Ace Pioneer A/T III tyres (LT235/85 R16 and LT245/70 R17) are affected. And the recall covers all production dates of the aforementioned tyres.
On 31 January 2022 Kelani Tyres PLC announced plans from the Kelani Tyres/Ceat joint venture to invest up to 3.2 billion Sri Lanka rupees (£11.637 million; 13.915 million euros; US$15.801) in increasing its tyre manufacturing capacity via machinery upgrades.
Falken is to launch a new flagship car tyre for performance cars and SUVs in spring 2022. The Azenis FK520 is the Sumitomo Rubber Industries brand’s new tyre that exhibits Falken’s latest technologies, many of which are derived from its successful, race-winning European motorsport programme. Falken states that its next-generation UHP tyre is stiffer and lighter than its predecessor, reducing unsprung mass, and improving stability and efficiency. The new Falken Azenis FK520 will initially come in 81 sizes between 17 and 21 inches for cars and powerful SUVs. Every variation is certified for speed category Y (300 km/h).
Yokohama’s flagship Advan tyre range has secured original equipment approvals from some of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers, such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche. The manufacturer will launch a new flagship replacement market tyre in 2022, the Advan Sport V107, developed for premium vehicles in an initial range of 30-plus sizes between 18 and 23 inches. Versions of the tyre developed alongside leading OEMs, have already been specified for fitment on a variety of new models, such as the Brabus Off Roader range and BMW’s first fully electric “sports activity vehicles.”
Michelin has announced the launch of its fifth generation Pilot Sport and the upgraded Primacy 4+. The new summer tyres represent the manufacturer’s newest solutions for the ultra-high performance and touring segments, following up multi-award winning predecessors. Both tyres are designed to deliver on Michelin’s efforts to decrease the environmental impact of its tyres by increasing the longevity of the tyres’ key safety performance characteristics.
On 11 January 2021 Jiangsu Province Department of Commerce approved Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd’s (GS Tire) US$300 million investment in a new tyre factory in Cambodia. Company stock market filings had previously described that factory as a $204 million investment, which suggests the scope of the project has increased significantly.
During January 2021, Jiangsu Seyoun Tire Co. Ltd.’s phase 2 Suqian City, China factory construction project got underway. According to industry association CRIA, the new tyre production base is expected to manufacture 3.2 million sets of “high-performance all-steel radial tyres” and become an “all-steel radial tyre production base for heavy trucks”.
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