Six years ago, when Brazil introduced anti-dumping duties on car tyres imported from Ukraine, tyre maker Rosava withdrew from this market. It reports that it is now back, and following negotiations with a key player in Brazil’s tyre market will begin shipping 50,000 summer tyres a month.
A rare and valuable Toyota Supra Mk4 TRD 3000GT featured in a hit YouTube video has been fitted with Yokohama’s high performance Advan A052 tyres. With a view count over 900,000 in a few weeks, motoring journalist Mat Watson gives the striking Advan-liveried car and its tyres a thorough workout in a series of tests which showcase the car’s capabilities.
The Van den Ban Group (VDB) has added the new Gripmax SureGrip Pro Sport UHP summer tyre to its range. The modern, sporty pattern offers A-rated wet grip and availability in more than 40 size variations between 18 and 22”. The supplier says the tyre’s size range will ultimately be expanded to more than 130 SKUs.
The Nova Force Acro is the latest generation performance tyre from Leao Tire, a sub-brand of Linglong Tire. Tuned for “ultra-high performance luxury cars,” Linglong says the development of the tyre began with the extensive use of FEA simulation in the early product design stage. Using these methods to analyse and optimise overall tyre stress and strain distribution, Linglong says it improved the durability of the new Leao tyre.
Davanti Tyres launched its new flagship tyre, the ultra-high performance Protoura Sport, in early 2021. The brand says the development of the premium pattern complements its existing DX640 UHP product, giving drivers more choice within the range. “With Protoura Sport we have taken the latest in tyre engineering innovation and created a new benchmark in our UHP offering,” said Davanti’s development director, Gary Cross.
General Tire’s Altimax One S is the heritage-rich Continental group brand’s successor to the Altimax Sport, offering reliable dry performance, increased wet grip, and higher mileage due to its silica enriched rubber compound. The tyre is available in the UK from exclusive distributor Micheldever Tyre Services in a broad range of 15 to 20” sizes, approved for speeds of up to 186 mph.
Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd (Jiangsu General) has announced plans to invest 1.304 billion yuan (£143.888 million; 167.458 million euros; US$203.947 million) in the construction of “high-performance semi-steel radial tyre projects in Cambodia”.
Car registration figures may offer some relief for the embattled sector, but analysts have warned the recovery might be slower than first hoped. Andrew Burn, managing director and head of automotive at Interpath Advisory (formerly KPMG Restructuring), said of the May SMMT registration figures: “The latest registration figures will come as great relief to the sector given the tumultuous challenges it is grappling with. The numbers reflect the first full month of showroom openings, with volumes back to circa 2012 levels. The question now is where volumes will settle once we have moved beyond the pandemic and the new norms are established.
Sepi Arani, director of OEM at the UK’s largest new car marketplace and comparison site www.carwow.co.uk, gives his thoughts on the May SMMT car registration figures and the EV takeover: “It’s incredibly encouraging to see new car registrations on the rise and with EV’s taking a 13.8 per cent share of the registrations in 2021 so far, despite the naysayers, EV adoption is happening faster than many give credit for.”
With the year’s first full month of showroom openings, new car registrations in May reached 156,737 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The total represents an almost eightfold increase on the same month last year, but is down -14.7 per cent on pre-pandemic May 2019, and -13.2 per cent on the 10-year May average.
Stapleton’s (Tyre Services) is conservatively optimistic for the summer months thanks to its exclusive brands, which offer particularly strong UHP tyres in the mid-range. Korean manufacturer Nexen Tire is due to begin shipping new N’Fera and N’Blue tyres to the UK imminently, while the latest tyres from Maxxis have helped the Taiwan-based brand to its best year of independent tyre test results ever in 2020.
Linglong is introducing a new range of European focused car tyres in 2021, all carrying the new “Master” brand. The UHP Sport Master represents a big leap forward for the manufacturer in terms of wet grip, with a 17 per cent improvement over its previous UHP products snaring it an A grade on the tyre label. Linglong says its new summer UHP tyre inherits the genes of its D1 racing tyres; the Linglong Tire Drift Team Orange won two annual championships in the Japanese D1 Grand Prix 2020. The manufacturer adds that this sporting pedigree accounts for around 20 per cent of the tyre’s performance – its sporty handling – with the other 80 per cent tuned for regular driving performance.
Founded in roughly 1994 as a casing collection company which focused on imports, Radburg is now one of the leading retreaders in Europe and certainly the biggest car tyre retreader in Eastern Europe and Romania. What’s different about Radburg compared with most of the other retreaders across the continent, is that the majority of Radburg’s annual retreaded tyre output (70 per cent) is made up of passenger car products.
Pirelli is increasing prices for the car and light truck tyres it sells in the USA. From 1 July 2021, increases of up to six per cent will take effect, varying by line and tyre size.
Linglong Tire has introduced a new tyre range within its Leao Tire brand. It targets the Leao Nova Force Acro at drivers of ultra-high-performance luxury cars.
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