Commercial Vehicle Tyres
Michelin has selected the Commercial Vehicle Show 2014 to host an exclusive international preview of its new 385/65 R 22.5 X Multi T trailer tyre – which will be officially launched this summer. Michelin says the 385/65 X Multi T, which is designed for national and regional operations, will enable fleets to drive even greater […]
Chinese tyre maker Aeolus says it intends to use its presence at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show to demonstrate the value/performance proposition offered by the brand to buyers and specifiers of commercial tyres. The company plans to exhibit its full range of truck, bus, coach and van tyres in conjunction with exclusive UK distributor Kings Road Tyres.
The latest annual results from Bridgestone Corporation show a rise in sales, operating income and net income, although the latter was pared back by fines linked to antitrust cases and the cost of product recalls during the year, including the 1.2 million tyre recall announced in Japan in November 2013. The company also anticipates that sales and operating income will further increase in 2014.
Mercedes-Benz has signed a deal with Maxxis to supply its MCV3 van tyres as original equipment on the 5.0T and 3.88T variants of the Sprinter.
Apollo Vredestein UK managing director Stuart Jackson revealed several strategic details with which Apollo plans to grow its brand in the UK. Apollo is to introduce a truck and bus tyre range and expand its passenger car tyre lines into a fourth generation, with a sizeable investment in UK marketing “to support brand growth.” The tyre manufacturer will also develop its links with Manchester United, both as a partner in a sports facility initiative and as a significant branding opportunity, with video and print marketing materials featuring the purple of Apollo and the red of the Stretford team.
Bridgestone has launched a new steer position tyre to its commercial vehicle range, tuned to improve tyre life and increase load capacity. Bridgestone also said the new tyre would offer greater savings on fuel, with significant reductions in rolling resistance and irregular wear among the benefits it says the new tyre provides. Bridgestone makes its claims for the tyre based on internal calculations and field test performance in Spain, France and The Netherlands in 2012.
Goodyear has made its new Fuelmax truck tyre available on European markets, including a steer size that the manufacturer believes to be the first with an A-grade for fuel efficiency on the EU tyre label. The new product was launched last year as the commercial line tuned towards better fuel efficiency – the other newly launched product, the Kmax, is likewise tuned towards longevity.
Data derived from tests conducted by independent certification organisations TÜV Süd Automotive and Dekra backs Michelin’s fuel efficiency and safety claims for its current long distance and regional commercial vehicle tyres. TÜV Süd compared the Michelin X Line Energy long-distance tyres against four competing brands in June 2013 on a Mercedes Benz Actros 1842, with a gross train weight of 40 tonnes and equipped with new tyres. In July Dekra compared the Michelin X MultiWay 3D regional tyre against three competing brands fitted on a Mercedes Benz 1820, loaded to a gross vehicle weight of 18 tonnes and equipped with new tyres that were two-thirds worn. Both tests were requested by Michelin and were designed to recreate “real world” conditions.
The tyre market in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12 per cent between 2013 and 2018. That’s according to research published 6 January by TechSci market analysts. According to the TechSci, the strong growth rate comes as a result of continuous growth in automotive sales coupled with the increasing demand for tyres in the replacement market. The report, “Saudi Arabia Automobile Tyre Market Forecast and opportunity, 2018”also says that the majority sales in the country’s tyre market are contributed by the passenger vehicle segment.
Michelin North America will soon begin recalling around 1.3 million light commercial vehicle tyres. The tyre maker says the recall of certain Michelin LTX M/S fitments was decided upon as due to the increasing number of tread loss and/or rapid air loss incidents reports it has received. The recall is expected to begin on 6 January 2014.
Heading up to the first anniversary of the European tyre label’s implementation, Tyres & Accessories took the opportunity to ask about tyre manufacturers’ label experiences with commercial fleet operators. From Chris Evans, director of Pirelli’s UK and Ireland Truck business unit, we learned that fleet reactions to the label have been mixed. “It’s a good tool to help end users collect essential information when choosing new tyres,” he relates. “But fleets recognise the tyre label cannot substitute the wide range of information offered by the manufacturers and service providers which detail many of the other facets of a truck tyre, such as mileage and retreadability. Often a fleet will prefer to test in real time, usually back-to-back with competitor or traditional products to see true performances in their own environment.”
Michelin has won a tyre supply deal for the Teesport based Containerships fleet. With 60 6×2 mid-lifts, fleet engineer Gordon Aitchison says the results of a recent 1,000km trial have helped to identify significant annual cost differences of more than 20 per cent between four different 295/80R22.5 premium brand tyres.
While UK car output provided good news for the industry, commercial vehicles remained in steep decline, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures show. CV output dropped 27.5 per cent in September to 6,963 units, meaning 67,609 CVs have been produced in 2013 to date, down 17.9 per cent from 2012.
It’s as old as the pneumatic tyre itself – this year, Continental Tire the Americas’ Aldora Mills tyre cord plant in Barnesville, Georgia celebrates 125 years in operation. The facility began life as a cotton mill in 1888 and began producing tyre cord around 1920. Today the 82,500 square metre plant produces around 16 thousand tonnes of tyre cord fabric a year for use in the manufacture of passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres.
GT Radial has entered the growing multi-usage sector with the launch of the GSR225 Combi Road steer axle tyre. The tyre is initially available in size 295/80R22.5.
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