Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi are said to have held talks exploring ways to jointly develop and purchase parts. The procurement talks were held in Hyundai’s Seoul HQ and covered parts purchased in the US, Japan and Europe in addition to South Korea.
Three companies which supply chemicals for tyre manufacturing are being investigated for possible price fixing. Investigations are on-going in both the USA and Europe into Bayer AG, Flexsys NV and Crompton Corp. Experts estimate that sales of rubber-processing chemicals in the USA are worth around $900 million annually.
Ford has announced that it plans to cut $2 billion from its European supply budget. Chairman of Ford of Europe, David Thursfield, said that the cost reductions would be achieved through design improvements, rather than forcing suppliers to cut prices.
Lithium Technology Corporation, has announced that together with its German lithium polymer battery company partner, GAIA, the two companies have completed and shipped their first prototype 42-Volt automotive battery to BMW under the auspices of the European Union-sponsored “Astor” program (Assessments and testing of advanced storage systems for propulsion and other electrical systems in passenger cars). The Astor consortium consists of seven European auto companies: VW, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Opel, Fiat, Volvo, and Peugeot. The prototype lithium battery, which is now undergoing testing in Europe, delivers 7-8 kiloWatts of power at ambient temperatures, with a capacity of 27 Amp-hours, a pulse power capability of up to 6 kiloWatts for starting at an operating temperature of -25 degrees C, and an estimated life of 8 years. The battery is designed to meet the 42-Volt battery specifications of the Astor project.
TRW’s steering and suspension components currently marketed under licence by Federal Mogul, are to be sold under the TRW brand. Martin Hendricks, director and general manager for TRW Automotive Aftermarket Europe said, “We have a clear branding strategy – Lucas for braking and TRW for steering and suspension. Our OE position and the reputation for excellence for Lucas braking and TRW steering and suspension makes this an obvious direction for us.”
Global economic factors presented Yokohama with a difficult year in 2001. The market was stable in Europe but the slowdown in US growth limited market development. The strong Japanese private sector capital investment was countered by a sluggish consumer market. However Yokohama still increased sales in the domestic market, though this was offset by a strong Yen which affected exports. Net sales dropped by 1.1 per cent in 2001 to 387.9 billion Yen (3,1 bn Euro). Cost reductions and improvements in efficiency raised operating income by 4.2% to 19.8 billion Yen (168,7 million Euro).
Nokian Tyres has developed two new high performance summer tyres, tailored for Central Europe, the USA and Nordic countries, and which will go on sale next spring. The NRVi is a V-rated tyre available in 19 sizes and features an info field near the bead area – the tyre fitter marks the field with the correct inflation pressure for the driver’s convenience. The second tyre, the NRY, is Z-rated (maximum speed 300 km/hr) and comes in six sizes, which correspond to OE sizes of many luxury cars.
The Cooper Tire & Rubber Company’s new business to business website, which was recently launched by the Findlay, USA-based tyre manufacturer, currently only allows U.S. customers to place orders via the internet. However, It is planned to make the service available in Europe early next year.
A report in the Financial Times based on information from the World Markets Research Centre reveals that the most efficient car factory in Europe is the Nissan plant in Sunderland, UK, with a production of 95 vehicles per employee. Equal second are Ford’s factory at Saarlouis, Germany and Toyota’s plant at Burnaston, UK, with 87 vehicles per employee. However, no European or American car factory makes it into the world’s top ten most efficient plants. Of these, the top nine are in Japan and the tenth in Korea. The world’s most efficient car factory is Mitsubishi’s plant at Mitsushima, which produces 180 vehicles per employee.
Peter De Cabooter has been appointed as Bandag’s Sales Director, Europe, reporting to Mike Tirona, Vice President and General Manager. De Cabooter joined Bandag in 1991 as Sales Development Manager, Benelux. He was made Country Manager for the same territory six years later, then Marketing Product Manager. He was appointed Fleet Sales Manager in 1999 and General Sales Manager for Eurofleet in 2000, having been closely involved in the design and development of Bandag’s fleet program.
The new Managing Director at the Goodyear Technical Centre in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg (GTC*L) is Jean Bergh (59) after the retirement of Theo Famulok. Famulok has headed up the 900 technicians at Goodyear’s R & D centre since 1994. 900 technicians in Luxembourg develop car, truck and agricultural tyres for Europe as well as for the Asian and African markets.
Michelin recently took the decision to abandon OE orders from GM Europe as the company wants to concentrate on OE business in the more lucrative high performance segment. Michelin said that its North American business with GM is not affected (Michelin is GM’s second largest tyre supplier, with the Uniroyal, BFGoodrich and Michelin brands) but it now appears that GM North America does not want to consider Michelin for future OE projects.
The Wall Street Journal Europe has published a list of Europe’s top 500 companies, ranked on value of sales last year. Tyre manufacturing is represented by three companies. These are Michelin (number 118) with sales of 15.77 billion Euro, Continental (158 – sales 11.23 bn Euro) and Pirelli (217 – sales 7.50 bn Euro). To put this in perspective, the number one-ranked European company was BP, which had sales of 197.8 bn Euro.
Sales of new cars in Europe during May fell by 8 per cent to 1.29 million vehicles; the largest drop for fifteen months. Of the five biggest markets, only the UK showed growth, while sales in Germany declined 14 per cent, Italy down 11 per cent and France down 8.6 per cent. The German figure was influenced by strikes at a number of car plants during May. Industry experts describe the west European car market as “being in the doldrums” and some predict that it will continue to fall until next year.
Michelin recently held an analyst conference to discuss its commercial vehicle tyre performance and strategy. This sector is worth 3.9 billion Euro a year in sales to Michelin, with an operating margin of almost 9 per cent, despite the dramatic downturn in the US and European markets. Looking ahead, the company’s strategy lies in the provision of total tyre management and problem solutions for fleets, with Michelin often taking over a customer’s total tyre requirements, from new tyres to scrap disposal. Typically, Michelin tyres command a price premium (of up to 20 per cent in Europe) over competitors’ tyres and the company intends to maintain this pricing level. Despite the higher prices, Michelin has an estimated OE market share of 70 per cent, and a replacement market share of over 30 per cent, and the company is aiming to improve on these figures. There has been a boost in the first four months of this year, with raw material prices lower than expected and sales volumes of tyres greater than anticipated.
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