Europe Archives - Page 105 of 180 - Tyrepress

Tag Archive for: Europe

European New Car Market Contracts by a Quarter in November

According to data released by on December 16 by JATO Dynamics, the European new car market fell by 25.3 per cent (313,361 units) during November 2008, when compared to the same month last year. Total sales for the month now stand at 924,936 units, down from 1,238,297 in 2007.

This further decline in the market, which has dropped consistently over the past seven months, sees an increased year to date deficit figure in comparison to 2007. The total number of vehicles sold during the first 11 months of 2008 is 13,556,052 units – 7.1 per cent (1,030,584 units) less than during the same period last year.

17th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hans-Rudolf Hein Leaving BMW to join Bridgestone

According to his own words, Hans-Rudolf Hein – in charge of tyre and wheel development at BMW – will after 32 years turn his back on the automobile industry to join Bridgestone Europe at the start of next year. While he cites private reasons for the change, he also states that he’s always wanted to know what it’s like to work for a tyre manufacturer. Among other things, Hein will in his new position be responsible for representing Bridgestone’s point of view in various committees and organisations.

15th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Report: Schaeffler Needs up to 7 billlion Euros Share Capital

Schaeffler Group needs somewhere between 4 and 7 billion euros of new share capital, Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Friday 12 December. According to a Perella Weinberg study presented to Continental’s supervisory board, Schaeffler has net debt of around 11 billion euros (six times annual EBITDA), Handelblatt reported. The newspaper’s banking sources said at the end of November no changes would be made to Schaeffler’s 16.1 billion euro syndicated loan before 2009.

At the same time as Handelblatt published its story, Wall Street Journal Europe reported that Continental is in talks to restructure the multi billion euro loans it arranged for the purchase of Siemens VDO Automotive. However, Reuters reported that Continental is not trying to restructure these “at this stage.” Quoting a source familiar with the matter, the newswire said it may have to do so next year if Schaeffler increases its stake to a majority shareholding or if the economic environment worsens dramatically.

12th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Confirmed as OE for European Spec Nissan GT-R

In December production of the European specification Nissan GT-R gets underway at the company’s Tochigi factory in Japan, and the manufacturer reports a number of small but significant changes have been made to the car. Furthermore the Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST tyre, previously available as an option on the GT-R, will be standard fitment on the performance Nissan when it arrives in European showrooms.

The tyre, comments Nissan, was developed specifically for the GT-R and it combines grip and durability, as demonstrated during its ‘time-attack’ lap of the Nürburgring, which yielded a time of 7 minutes 29 seconds. And the manufacturer adds that, just to improve the ride performance even further, a modification has been carried out to the suspension spring rate settings. The Dunlop tyres are matched with a gun metal grey coloured Rays seven-spoke alloy wheel design for the standard and Premium Edition GT-Rs, while the Black Edition will be fitted with the same design but, appropriately, in black.

8th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

UK New Car Sales Drop More than 35% in November

Sales of new cars in the UK plummeted in November to 100,333 units, a decrease of 36.8 per cent on last year’s figures. These dismal results, released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), represent the greatest monthly drop since June 1980. During the year to November, car sales totalled 2,023,104 units, down 10.7 per cent on the first 11 months of 2007.

5th December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Joe Greenwell To Be Next SMMT President

Joe Greenwell, vice president, governmental affairs at Ford of Europe, will be the next president of SMMT, from 1 January 2009. Greenwell will succeed Graham Smith OBE, senior vice-president, Toyota Motor Europe, who steps down at the end of his two year term.

3rd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Snap-on Equipment Brands Unveil Redesigns

John Bean and Hofmann, brands within Snap-on Equipment, have unveiled their new cabinet designs and equipment overhauls for the company’s ranges of wheel aligners, balancers and tyre changers. Hofmann has redesigned its high specification monty 3300 racing tyre changer, in order to allow it to handle run-flat and ultra high profile (UHP) tyres, while the John Bean range of aligners now features ergonomically designed cabinet fittings.

2nd December 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kwik-Fit Fleet Extends Contract With Lombard

Lombard Vehicle Management has extended its long-standing business partnership with Kwik-Fit Fleet through to the end of 2009. The new agreement sees Kwik-Fit Fleet supply a range of fast-fit services through its 675-strong nationwide network of centres and 200-strong mobile operation to Lombard, which manages a fleet of more than 115,000 cars and light commercial vehicles.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Vintage Tyres Resurrect Avon CR39 Turbospeed

Owners of Jaguar XJ40s and XJ6s from the late 80s and early 90s have had an impossible task locating their discontinued replacement tyres. However, Vintage Tyre Supplies is aiming to solve this problem with the re-introduction of the 220/65VR390 Avon CR39 Turbospeed. According to the vintage tyre specialist, Cooper Tire Europe (the home of the Avon brand) had been holding these moulds for the tyres in storage at its Melksham headquarters. So, following some mould refurbishment the first batches completed their test programme with flying colours and are now exclusively available from VTS

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

OE, Replacement Tyre Markets Shrank in October, says Michelin

According to data released by Michelin, the European market (including the CIS) for OE passenger car and light truck tyres shrank by 21.3 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2007. Year to date, the original equipment market has shrunk 2.0 per cent in Europe compared with last year, and the replacement tyre market 4.2 per cent.

The European market for replacement tyres in this sector also reduced from a year earlier, by 9.9 per cent. In the truck tyre segment, the combined European and CIS region experienced 11.4 per cent decline in the OE market during October, and an 11.8 per cent shrinkage in the replacement tyre market. Year to date, the OE truck tyre market has grown 7.3 per cent in Europe compared with 2007, and the replacement tyre market reduced by 4.5 per cent.

21st November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Van Dyck Re-joins Deldo as Director, Sales & Organisation

Deldo reports that Tom Van Dyck is ‘back in business’ with the company, in the role of director, Sales & Organisation. The 29 year old initially joined Deldo in 2002 as sales manager for Germany, and later became sales manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2007 he left the company and started working for the KBC Group as an internal consultant, where he actively participated on several strategic projects.

In his latest role at Deldo, Van Dyck will be involved in the management of eight sales teams, realising Europe-wide sales in the replacement tyre market. His activities include organisational optimisation in order to achieve both strategic and operational business goals.

20th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

ArvinMeritor 2008 Results Show Reduced Losses, Increased Sales

ArvinMeritor reports achieving sales of US$1.72 billion in the quarter ending September 30, an increase of 8 per cent on the corresponding quarter of 2007. Operating income during this, the company’s fourth quarter, is reported as $40 million, up from the previous year’s quarterly loss of $16 million. The vehicle systems and components manufacturer’s net loss, however, was substantially larger than in the fourth quarter of 2007, standing at $153 million, as opposed to $62 million.

For the full financial year to September 30, sales were $7.167 billion, up 11.1 per cent from the 2007 year. ArvinMeritor attributes this improved result to strength in Europe and South America. The company’s operating income of $186 million showed a 251 per cent improvement, and net loss, at $101 million, was far lower than in 2007, when a net loss of $219 million was recorded.

20th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Planning Job Cuts and Plant Idling, says Union

Job cuts are said to be a possibility at Pirelli & C. SpA. According to Italian labour union Filcem, whose comments have been published by Bloomberg, the company will eliminate approximately 200 administrative jobs in Milan and will probably continue to idle plants to counter a global drop in demand.

19th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Toyota iQ Is Japan’s Car Of The Year

The revolutionary Toyota iQ, the world’s smallest four-seater passenger car, has won the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award by a landslide over rivals such as the Citroën C5, Audi A4 and Jaguar XF. The innovative iQ scored more than double the points of the second placed, receiving top marks from 39 of the 65 jurors who voted.

The judges praised the iQ for its space efficiency and design, particularly the iQ’s capacity for seating four people within a body less than three metres long, as well as its combination of high levels of safety and low CO2 emissions.

19th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop the Tyre of Choice for Lancer Evo X

Dunlop has announced that its SP Sport 600 tyres have been chosen as original equipment on Mitsubishi Motors’ new Lancer Evolution X. The high-performance vehicle comes with a new powerful all-aluminium 2.0 litre turbo engine, with power ranging from 295PS and 407Nm of torque to 359PS and 492Nm, depending on the model. Dunlop will meet the task of transmitting that power to the road with its SP Sport 600 in the size 245/40R18 93Y.

18th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors