Yokohama used the 2019 Autosport International show at the NEC Birmingham to demonstrate how its long motorsport history has inspired its range of high performance tyres. Both product categories are covered by the Advan brand, which the manufacturer calls the pinnacle of its high performance offering.
Rotalla, which reportedly sells over 1 million tyres a year, is already taking orders for the contract tyre manufacturer’s new all season range – Setula 4-Season RA03 car tyres and Setula 4-Season RA05 (commercial vehicles). When the range is completed during the first quarter of 2019, customers will be able to choose from 100 sizes options. The Rotalla summer tyre range also offers the Setula E-Race RH01, RH02, RU01 and the F110 high-performance sports utility pattern, with both the Setula E-Race RH01 and RU01 patterns carrying impressive CB EU tyre labelling ratings.
Singapore-based Stamford Tyres’ Firenza tyre brand is pitching itself as “a competitively priced selection of both passenger car and high-performance tyres for the UK and Europe”.
In the US, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has launched the Eagle Exhilarate, which the company describes as “a game-changing, ultra-high-performance product that delivers on consumer demands, particularly wet performance”. Goodyear’s newest ultra-high-performance all-season product features a new built-in wear gauge tool and a high performing tread compound.
Bridgestone is applying its DriveGuard runflat technology beyond the original line of car tyres. The tyre manufacturer has added DriveGuard RFT to its Turanza, Blizzak and Weather Control lines, extending the availability of the technology to an even greater breadth of the market.
Goodyear’s SoundComfort has been voted Product of the Year 2019 in a consumer research survey conducted by Nielsen in Belgium and the Netherlands. The noise reduction technology aims to address consumer and market needs as a result of the decreasing noise of car engines, especially since the arrival of electric and hybrid vehicles. With less noise coming from the engine, the noise caused by tyres is becoming more noticeable.
SD-International recently added the Three A brand to its contract tyre manufacturing portfolio. According to the company, Three A tyres are now available in England, Scotland and Wales across most market sectors including passenger car fitments.
General Tire continues its product offensive with its latest summer tyre ranges for on road use – the Altimax One & Altimax One S.
According to the company, both tyres feature “the robust characteristics and high grip that General Tire is renowned for”. The latest products offer new solutions with its American heritage at its core. Rigid shoulder blocks and a continuous rib structure in the centre offer precise handling and outstanding braking on dry roads, thanks to the connected shoulder blocks and reinforced stiffness.
The combination of increasing demand for MOTs and stricter test criteria look likely to create a boom in demand at garages and for tyres in particular.
After years of post-financial crisis scrappage schemes and investment, the UK car industry got used to boom times and consecutive year-on-year growth.
Homologations of Pirelli tyres equipped with the manufacturer’s Pirelli Noise Cancelling System (PNCS) technology numbered 78 by the end of 2017. One year later, the figure increased by 100 per cent, now making a total of more than 150.
Continental Tyre Group Ltd has brought the management and running of its Regional Distribution Centre in Rugby in-house, effective immediately.
Continental commissioned the first driverless tyre test vehicle for a wide range of road surface types at its Ulvade, Texas test track on 19 December 2018. The aim is to make the test results for Continental’s passenger and light truck tyres more conclusive and minimize the impact of the test procedure on the results. The new test vehicle is based on Continental’s automated Cruising Chauffeur, which was developed for freeways.
Pirelli has opened a fourth branch of its tyre boutique retail concept P Zero World on a third continent. The store follows previous openings in Los Angeles, Munich and Monte-Carlo. More than 60 supercars belonging to local collectors formed a parade through the city to mark the Dubai opening. The following day more than 200 cars took to the track at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi for the P Zero Experience: Pirelli’s track day event.
Having rejected earlier plans for a new tyre factory in Malaysia, Prinx Chengshan has invested 170.6 million yuan (£19.464 million) in buying at least 433,600 square metres of land in at Tambon Nong Suea Chang, Amphur Nong Yai, and Tambon Klong-Kew, Amphur Ban-Bung, Chonburi province in Thailand. According to stock exchange filings dated 25 December 2018, the deal comprises “several plots of land” and will be funded by the company’s recent global share offering.
Pirelli will continue and enhance its support of Porsche Club of America over the next three years, having renewed its agreement with the world’s largest organisation for the brand’s enthusiasts. The club, which has more than 130,000 members in 145 North American regions, cited Pirelli’s status as an original equipment supplier to Porsche as a major component of its decision to continue the agreement.
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