The European Commission, and BIPAVER are in negotiation with Brazilian and Argentinean authorities to try and raise the prohibition of the ban on retread imports which the EC considers protectionist and a restriction on Free trade. The EC is preparing to take the case to the World Trade Organisation, which will allow compensation claims to be made and possible commercial retaliatory barriers to be imposed.
Pirelli Tyre ceased operations at its Hanford, California plant. This follows a six month notice issued to the facility in October 2000 stating that the plant’s cost structure was not competitive with other Pirelli plants’ costs. Production capacity will be transferred from Hanford to plants in Europe and South America.
Danish group Dek Ringen, with 31 members and 35 outlets, has joined the European point S network. The cooperation already had 700 outlets in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands. The European Tyre Coordination Committee (ETC) coordinates all activities of point S members across Europe.
Continental is considering whether to discontinue truck tyre manufacturing at its plant at Herstal, Belgium. The factory employs 777 and, should truck tyre manufacturing cease, the company says other activities would be expanded, especially car tyre production using the MMP (Modular Manufacturing Process). Analysts estimate that such a move would reduce Conti’s truck tyre capacity by 600,000 tyres, or 15 per cent of output.
Cooper Tire is launching a new Cooper-branded tyre in Europe, aimed at the small van and light truck market. The Discoverer AST II replaces the p-metric sizes of the Discoverer Radial AST and is available in twelve, S-rated sizes for 15 and 16 inch rims. The new tyre will be made at Coopers Findlay, Ohio factory.
Eric Bequin, Manager of Advertising at Goodyear Luxembourg, will become the new Director of Advertising, Europe, from the 1st of May. He succeeds Rainer Keinath, who is leaving the company voluntarily.
Continental has ended its co-operation with Autobytel Europe. The tyre manufacturer had intended to invest 15 million Euro in retail sales via the Internet. The company has revised plans and is eschewing B2C activities to concentrate on B2B developments. Swedish customers in the test market can already access the tyre module from car broker Autobytel.
Kwik-Fit has been trialling a new, three-stage car care concept at a site in Edinburgh, offering motorists a service beyond that of a standard fast-fit operation. Fault diagnosis and mechanical rectification are available on the same site, as well as the usual fast-fit services. The concept is ready to roll out at selected locations in the UK and could transfer to mainland Europe. Five years qgo, Kwik-Fit launched its insurance scheme for motorists. Originally planned only as a telemarketing operation, the idea to offer insurance was an afterthought, which it was hoped would offset some of the costs. Read how the operation has grown to become the biggust outbound call centre in the insurance industry, plus a significant contributor to group profits.
Analysts regard the price of Conti shares as relatively cheap, at 16.5 Euro. On the other hand, prospects for the group do not look very good; Continental’s Letter to Investors revealed that results in Europe for the first quarter of the year were better than expected. However, the situation for Conti General in the USA is very difficult, with results much worse than forecast and with little prospect of improvement. The plan to sell off the profitable Conti-Tech division will probably have a negative impact on the share price, analysts also believe.
Automotive consulting firm Autopolis has produced a report which predicts that the western European car market is going through a decline at the moment. 1999 was a record year, with 15.1 million vehicles being sold, but last year the market dropped by 2% and Autopolis says that the fall will continue this year and next, with sales dropping to 13.4 million cars – a decline of 11% in three years.
The possibility of faulty wheel bolts being fitted to Honda vehicles has prompted the company to recall all vehicles manufactured between 9 January and 20 April. Defects have been found in 37 cases. Honda is investigating whether cars produced in North America or Europe are affected.
At a time when vehicle markets in the US and Europe are set to fall sharply, the outlook for most of Asia is not too bad, says a report from industry strategists Autopolis. It predicts a downturn in the region for this year and next, but, as 2000 saw record car sales (excluding Japan), the drop should be manageable. This year, only China and Malaysia are forecast to see sales of vehicles rise. The Japanese market is predicted to fall this year by 4.3 per cent and 2.4 next. For Asia outside Japan, the figures are minus 5.5 per cent (2001) and minus 3.3 per cent (2002). 2003 should see an upturn both inside and outside Japan, says Autopolis.
In Europe the Kelly brand will be removed as part of a plan to reduce the number of Goodyear’s brands in Europe. Kelly’s removal is expected to be followed by other brands (Sava, Debica), with appeal only in Eastern Europe. The decision to scrap Kelly comes only seven months after the brand was comprehensively relaunched in the UK at Tyrexpo Europe.
The French tyre trading network Arc-en-Ciel claims to be the largest European chain of independent tyre dealers. In 1986, there were only twelve members, but this has grown to a network of 850 outlets in Europe, 386 of which are in France. Every year, 20 new members join the group, it is claimed. In France alone, Arc-en-Ciel distributed around 2.9 million tyres in 1999, with the group holding 11% of the car/van tyre market, 9% of HGV and 18% of the agricultural tyre market. The Arc-en-Ciel branding is memorable – the name means rainbow in French – and this is carried over to a range of own brand products, which, of course, includes tyres that go under the name Eurotyre. As Arc-en-Ciel spreads across Europe, its strength increases. In addition to the French network, the group has a presence in six European countries, including 71 depots in the Benelux and 168 in Spain. Further expansion is envisioned in Portugal and in eastern Europe. Besides its fast-fit operation, Arc-en-Ciel has introduced a 24-hour replacement tyre service for hauliers in 14 European states.
A comprehensive article in TYRES & ACCESSORIES (“We were hoping for architects, but so far we have only seen cost-cutters”) commented critically on the Goodyear acquisition of both the Dunlop activities in Europe and North America and the joint venture with Sumitomo in Japan, with all their particular opportunities and consequences. While Goodyear’s CEO Sam Gibara accepted that the facts had been reported correctly, he did not agree with much of the analysis. At the Goodyear head office in Akron, Ohio around Easter time, he gave a detailed and exclusive interview, in which he explained the reasons for, and the background to, the acquisition and the joint venture. Furthermore, Gibara was forthcoming about why cooperation with Dunlop is so important that he is even willing to accept a temporary interference in the balance sheet.
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