The tyre business along with the rest of the automotive industry was hit hard by the effects of coronavirus. This tag brings you the latest news as it happens.
Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars and vans by 2035 or earlier would not only be unfeasible but seriously economically damaging, particularly at a time when the economy is struggling to recover from the Coronavirus lockdown. The original date of 2040 is already a very tough ask”, said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA).
Michelin sales contracted more than 20 per cent in the first half of 2020 due to coronavirus affected markets. The 20.6 per cent contraction in sales resulted in an operating result of 310 million euros – 3.3 per cent of sales – 78.5 per cent less than in 2019 (1,438 billion euros). Volumes fell by 22.4 per cent. Operating income went from 1.381 billion to 177 million euros, while net income fell from 844 million to a loss of 137 million, with earnings per share going from 4.74 euros to a loss of 0.75 euros.
Car industry analysts have outlined the compound challenge facing the UK’s car sector following the publication of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ half-year figures. The stats show that the first half of 2020 yielded the lowest level of UK car manufacturing since the 1950s. Edwin Kemp, head of automotive strategy at KPMG, commented that the SMMT’s June 2020 new car manufacturing analysis is a harbinger for businesses’ likely descent into insolvency throughout the automotive supply chain. Peter Barnes, head of automotive at global legal business, DWF, added that the challenges facing the UK automotive industry add up to a perfect storm for the sector.
UK car manufacturing output declined -48.2 per cent in June, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures reveal. Only 56,594 units were produced in the month. The SMMT revealed that the 381,357 cars produced in the first half of 2020 represent the weakest six months of UK manufacturing since 1954. This is -42.8 per cent down on 2019’s first half, with more than 285,000 units fewer produced. 11,349 jobs have been lost across manufacturing and retail during the pandemic. The SMMT warns that the fear of Brexit tariffs could endanger more jobs without dedicated restart support. The society called for greater urgency in talks to secure an ambitious free trade agreement with the European Union. Its latest survey data shows nine in 10 firms are missing clarity of information to allow them to prepare for the end of the transition to the new ongoing relationship between the UK and EU.
It has been a case of business – but not as usual – for Top Treads, one of Bridgestone’s largest European Bandag franchisees as the company has faced “the most challenging working conditions ever encountered in the company’s history”.
This article appears in full in the September edition of Tyres & Accessories’ Retreading Special supplement. Subscribers can read the supplement online here. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
Engine products and drive systems supplier Dayco has opened a food bank at two of its Italian facilities, in order to further support those in need via the Italian Red Cross. The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the world economy and had serious consequences on a regional level, which has also affected many communities.
Continental has reported second quarter 2020 consolidated group sales of 6.620 billion euros. This equates to -39.8 per cent drop year-on-year. Pre-tax profits (EBIT) came in at -9.6 per cent of sales (-636 million euros). However, sales in the Rubber Technologies division, which includes tyres, were 2.962 billion euros and the adjusted EBIT margin was 1.2 per cent (around 36 million euros). Thus, Continental’s tyre business has managed to remain profitable despite the obvious pressures of the coronavirus context.
Trelleborg’s reorganisation, which gave greater prominence to tyres and wheels via its Trelleborg Wheel Systems business, was detailed at the end of February, just prior to the global spread of Covid-19 causing monumental disruption throughout Europe. Tyres & Accessories commented at the time that we planned to meet UK managing director Richard Lyons for the first time since his January appointment at the event in Sweden – as it turned out, Lyons was unable to make the trip for reasons detailed later. At the end of June, T&A met Lyons – fittingly on Microsoft Teams – to discuss how the pandemic has affected the market and the company’s response to the challenges of 2020, in addition to talking about how he is settling into his new role within the company.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK, has run a survey of dealers of all sizes to understand the implications of the COVID-19 lockdown on the automotive retail sector. The survey asked dealers questions about their return to work including the percentage of dealerships that reopened, current online activity, and levels of customer booking as well as phone enquiries.
Three years of intense work to open the European headquarters in Milan, build the team, develop and launch dedicated products, gain market share and then… the pandemic. Corrado Moglia, CEO of Triangle Tire in Europe, spoke to group publication PneusNews.it about how the company has dealt with this difficult period.
The second quarter of 2020 provided the worst quarterly sales results in recorded memory, the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) states. Publishing its members’ replacement tyre sales for the Covid-19 pandemic stricken quarter, ETRMA secretary general Fazilet Cinaralp said: “The tyre sector’s full recovery is still far away. For the moment, we can only hope for the market to stabilise in the second half of the year. Our outlook for 2020 remains bleak with a double-digit drop in sales expected across all segments.”
While 46 per cent of the global population is still without internet access, the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the effectiveness of digital technologies. And specifically companies such as Pirelli are now better prepared for a possible second wave of Covid-19 because of the digital technologies they have deployed. Pier Paolo Tamma, SVP and Chief Digital Officer of Pirelli and Dr John O’Shea of Dell Technologies shared their views at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit’s Virtual Edition on 8 July 2020.
In order to support members during these unusual times, the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) has developed a key worker identity card. According to the association, the NTDA was “inundated with members seeking advice and guidance on the status of their employees as key workers” during the full lockdown period.
The coronavirus crisis is global in its spread, but as generally known its affect so far has varied from country to country as well as from industry to industry. This is certainly the case within the retreading sector. While it’s been business as usual in Scandinavia and, to some extent, markets in the Baltic region, firms in Mediterranean countries, particularly Italy, were plunged into turmoil. Although the unanimous view amongst material suppliers in Europe – a lot can be read about the state of the market and its development from observing these companies’ business – is that Europe’s retreading market has slumped by around ten to 15 per cent up to and including May, forecasts for the remainder of the year vary. In doing so, they depend significantly upon the answer to one particular question: Are we experiencing a shortage of new tyres, as during Europe’s boom retreading years of 2010 and especially 2011? We asked how things look at two of Europe’s leading material suppliers – Kraiburg and Marangoni.
UK new car registrations fell -34.9 per cent in June, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) as the market began a tentative restart after more than two months of lockdown. The drop was an improvement on May’s -89.0 per cent wipe-out but, with 145,377 new car registrations, this still represented a significant decline of 78,044 compared with June 2019, as dealerships in Wales and Scotland remained closed for much of the month.
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Michelin
SMMT
SMMT
Bridgestone, Bandag, Top Treads
Dayco
Marcus Prell, Continental AG
Trelleborg
PneusNews.it
ETRMA
Pirelli
NTDA
Michelin
SMMT