The UK new car market grew 14.7 per cent in January to reach 131,994 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), setting the tone for an anticipated countercyclical year of growth. This was the best start to the year since January 2020’s pre-Covid 149,279 units and is the sixth successive month of expansion.
Tatneft, the firm seeking to acquire the Nokian Tyres operation in Russia, has purchased Uzbekhistan’s only tyre maker, Birinchi rezinotexnika zavodi. Former majority owner Uzkimyosanoat JSC reports that Tatneft paid US$80 million for a 100% shareholding in the tyre maker. Tatneft also takes over credit obligations and debts equal to $153 million.
Building on its 2015 foundation, the UK-owned Davanti Tyres brand has developed a comprehensive range of products for the car and light truck segments while increasing its penetration via distribution partners in international markets. With its products produced in East Asia and its sister distribution company Oak Tyres handling UK distribution, the brand can offer an informed perspective on current car tyre market trends. Tyres & Accessories talked to Davanti Tyres sales director for UK and Ireland, Sean Maddocks about tyre imports, car parc evolution, and the latest Davanti products.
The European passenger car and light truck tyre (PCLT) import market recovered substantially from its bout of Long Covid in the second half of 2022 as the benefits of local versus remote production took an unexpected hit. A perfect storm of significantly lower freight costs and high European energy costs nudged the dial on the relative competitiveness of imports and domestic PCLT tyre production in the second half of 2022. Looking at the European PCLT tyre market through the prism of imports, leading sector analyst Astutus Research shares with Tyres & Accessories its data demonstrating the effects of a rapidly changing market context. The latest Astutus Research briefing, ‘Supply Dynamics in the European PCLT Tire Industry to 2028’, priced at £995 is available now on Tyrepress.
Challenging trading conditions persist in the UK thanks to various interlocking crises, though 2022’s replacement tyre market demonstrates the way some segments resisted the strong headwinds better than others. While overall tyre sales (units) were basically flat versus 2021, any anticipated surging recovery from a pandemic induced nadir was, broadly speaking, put off for another year. Contrastingly, the value of the overall market surged, though this effect was more due to inflation and increasing prices than a switch towards higher-value products. Having said this, the picture painted by analyst GfK’s data, based on the company’s “panelmarket” of tyre retail sell-out sources from January to December, is also one of stratification.
Hankook Tyre UK has announced the winner of its latest promotional competition. Mr. Tyre customer Vincent Square won the top prize of a top-of-the-range Hyundai Ioniq 5 after purchasing Hankook Kinergy Eco 2 tyres from the retailer’s Langley Mill depot. The competition was open to purchasers of two or more Hankook car, SUV or 4×4 tyres from Hankook approved dealers, with daily prizes of £100 in Love2Shop gift vouchers also available during the promotional period.
Yokohama is supplying Advan Apex V601 tyres as original equipment on the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla, launched in Japan in January. The GR Corolla is fitted with 235/40R18 91W size tyres. Toyota will introduce the model gradually into overseas markets. The Yokohama Advan Apex V601 is a high-performance summer tyre with an asymmetric tread pattern reminiscent of that first used on one the Company’s most historically important tyres, the Yokohama A008, alongside the tyre manufacturer’s latest technologies. The V601 promotes grip, handling and wet performance.
While the fifth-generation Toyota Prius will not be sold in Europe, the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) edition will be launched in the market in spring 2023, rolling on Yokohama’s BluEarth-GT AE51 and BluEarth-FE AE30 tyres, like the conventional version. The news continues a long-term supply arrangement between the Japanese firms for the Prius range.
Recent months have seen the appointment of a completely new leadership team at Yokohama’s UK distribution operation, Yokohama HPT Ltd. Well-known in the market for its high-performance passenger car tyre and wheel sales, the appointments signal the start of a new chapter. With that in mind, Tyres & Accessories visited the company’s Milton Keynes headquarters and distribution centre in order to meet with recently-appointed CEO Peter Fairlie; commercial director, Karl Naylor; and marketing manager, Lucie Dalton, in order to find out more.
Bridgestone’s mid-range Firestone brand has launched a new “affordable high performance summer tyre”, the Firehawk Sport. The manufacturer says the tyre builds on the US-origin brand’s “strong legacy,” emphasising improved steering response, wet grip and dry braking characteristics versus the predecessor Firehawk SZ90mu. Bridgestone is marketing the tyre as a product to help drivers “feel empowered and in control at all times;” it targets its Firestone brand primarily at younger UK and European drivers, who are brand-conscious but also demanding greater affordability. It wants to leverage the long-term brand value of Firestone, which has a century-long heritage in motorsport and innovation, to achieve this.
Continental’s latest generation of winter tyres, the WinterContact TS 870 and 870 P have received approval from Ford for original fitment on the current Explorer, Fiesta, Focus, Mustang and Puma models. Both tyres are now available from Ford dealers. The current tyres, which were launched onto the aftermarket in 2021 offer precise steering and excellent safety characteristics, backed by a success independent magazine testing season in 2022.
A positive first half of 2022 gave way to an increasingly bleak picture for replacement tyre sales according to overall figures published today by European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) members. Overall this meant replacement consumer tyre sales were 2 per cent down on 2021. Commercial replacement tyre sales remained largely flat, except for the agricultural tyre market, which was down more than a fifth (-22 per cent), having been in contraction all year. Quarter four saw double-digit percentage falls versus the fourth quarter of 2021 as the effects of war in Ukraine, including spiralling energy prices and a continental cost of living crisis, bit. The European replacement tyre segment’s first half of the year had been relatively buoyant, with double-digit growth in replacement truck and bus tyres the highlight.
The UK new car market grew 23.5 per cent in November to 142,889 registered units in the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year growth, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The growth delivered the best total for November since 2019, with manufacturers continuing efforts to fulfil orders amid erratic global components supply. However, registrations in the month were still -8.8 per cent below 2019 levels and, while further recovery is anticipated in 2023, global and domestic economic challenges mean that the market will remain below pre-pandemic levels.
In the United States, Pirelli has announced a price increase relating to car and light truck tyres. Effective 15 January 2023, the company will increase prices by 10 per cent, varying by line and tyre size.
Tatneft has signed an agreement with JSC Uzkimyosanoat to purchase Uzbekistan tyre manufacturer Birinchi Rezinotexnika Zavodi (BRZ) LLC. According to the Interfax news agency, Tatneft will hold 100 per cent of the enterprise’s shares following the deal.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
Davanti Tyres
Astutus Research
Pirelli
Hankook
Yokohama
Yokohama
Google
Firestone
Continental
BRZ