Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is suggesting that production of Cooper branded tyres is set to restart at the company’s Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire (CCT) joint venture facility in Rongcheng, China. Production was halted when the workers at the Chinese joint venture company became embroiled in a significant industrial dispute with the US firm linked to the erstwhile Apollo Tyres takeover bid.
Commenting on the U.S. International Trade Commission’s extension of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain off-the-road tyres produced in China, the United Steelworkers union says the decision to continue with the 2008-introduced tariffs is a “good outcome to provide job security for the hundreds of tyre workers who make these same tyre products at Titan Bridgestone-Firestone and Goodyear factories in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas and New York.”
As late as 15 November, Cooper Tire & Rubber wrote in a statement that it “continues to seek the expeditious closing of the merger with Apollo Tyres.” Yet Sunam Sarkar, chief financial officer at Apollo Tyres, opines that Cooper’s fidelity as a partner was in question from the very start – a point that only came to light later on.
The US mandated TPMS installation in new cars some time ago and we and we all know that the same will happen in Europe in November this year, but what about the emerging markets? Ask any market analyst and you will learn that China in particular is set to overtake the US and become the world’s largest economy in the next few years. Many sources suggest the People’s Republic is already there in terms of car production and – as a consequence – tyre manufacturing. So what about TPMS take-up and manufacturing infrastructure in this market in particular?
Motorsport’s popularity as a conduit for tyre manufacturers’ marketing spend continues to thrive as aspirational brands from the far east seek to increase brand recognition and the perception of quality. The Evergreen brand, a relative newcomer to the tyre scene having gone into production at the Jinyu PCR factory in 2009, has become the latest to announce a move into the UK motorsport scene, tying up a sponsorship deal with car racing debutant Dan Zelos in the Ginetta Junior Championship. Evergreen says it is seeking to accelerate its expansion by following in the wheel tracks of some of its commercial rivals by taking its first steps into the high-octane world of motorsport through the partnership with promising Norfolk-based teenager.
The TPMS market was worth 1.4 billion yuan in 2012, according to research published in 2013. According to Huidian Research, this number is expected to exceed 1.5 billion yuan in 2013. Although China’s TPMS market has maintained rapid growth in recent years in parallel with a booming automotive and following tyre sector, the market scale is still relatively small compared with other automotive electronics products (such as EMS, ABS, automotive audio, airbags and auto instruments) and this industry is still described as being “in the initial stage of development”.
The China Rubber Industry Association reports that its ‘green tyre specifications’ document is currently open for input from the industry before its official launch during the first quarter of this year. The document was opened for comments on 27 December and will remain so until 20 January. According to the CRIA, the document defines what a green tyre is and sets out parameters to be used in a Chinese tyre label.
Michelin says it is working on a ‘communicating’ tyre for the Spark-Renault SRT_01E car that will be used by all teams during the first year of the new FIA Formula E Championship. The announcement was made during a demonstration run by the electric single-seat race car at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, USA.
On 6 January, six U.S. International Trade Commission commissioners unanimously voted not to revoke the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain off-the-road tyres produced in China. The ITC says the decision was taken to retain the orders as their repeal “would be likely to lead to a continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.”
The curtain has come down on a saga that made tyre industry headlines last year. On 30 December, Cooper Tire & Rubber announced its termination of the merger/acquisition agreement between it and India’s Apollo Tyres. The US tyre maker gave word of its action a day before the agreement was due to expire.
“It is time to move our business forward,” wrote Cooper chairman, chief executive officer and president Roy Armes in a statement. “While the strategic rationale for a business combination with Apollo is compelling, it is clear that the merger agreement both companies signed on June 12 will not be consummated by Apollo and we have been notified that financing for the transaction is no longer available. The right thing for Cooper now is to focus on continuing to build our business.”
Hankook Tire chief operating officer Europe and member of the board of directors, Jin-Wook Choi will leave his current position following 38 years with the company. Choi will take on a new consultancy role in the manufacturer’s global headquarters, having served more than thirteen years at top management positions around the world.
Dmack is to augment its continued role as authorised tyre supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship with a two car team in the WRC2 series. The British brand, manufactured in China by Shandong Yongtai, has announced the signing of Estonia’s Ott Tänak, who will join Finn Jari Ketomaa in a pair of Ford Fiesta R5 rally cars as the newly-formed Drive Dmack world rally team starts its campaign. Dmack has also announced a new range of rally tyres, as well as an extension of 60 sizes to its PCR range, coming in 2014.
Aeolus Tyre reports that the China Securities Regulatory Commission has contacted the company over potential disclosure violations. In a Chinese-language statement, the tyre maker confirms that the Henan branch of the CSRC has looked into a number of issues. Aeolus writes that it will cooperate with the CSRC and undertake corrective actions within 30 days of receiving a report outlining remedial action.
When Triangle senior-vice president Lin Xiaobin told Tyres & Accessories that “TYM is doing a really great job in the UK”, you can tell that it was more than just encouraging words. TYM International’s sales (of which the Triangle brand tyre sales represent a large part) have totalled some US$40 million over the last three years. But to give some impression of the growth arc, 2013 sales are said to have generated $13 million alone.
Several months ago a new rail freight service commenced between China and the German port city of Hamburg, and Heuver Tyrewholesale reports it intends to use this service as an additional channel for its tyre transport from China.
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