2006 has been a highly competitive year for the tyres, exhausts & batteries industry, although some companies have been enjoying historically high margins. But 2007 promises even tougher times, according to David Pattison, senior analyst with Plimsoll. His findings are based on Plimsoll’s Portfolio Analysis – Tyres, Exhausts & Batteries.

Looking at the tyres, exhausts & batteries market over the past 12 months, while growth was a healthy 6 per cent, well above inflation, almost a third of the 1000 companies monitored by Plimsoll saw a fall in sales. This indicates that much of the growth is being shared by a select band of firms. The effect has been that the industry has begun heading in a new direction, and the companies which have found themselves lagging behind have been slow to recognise this.