At the start of 2008 it was stated that the upcoming launch of two new Citroën models, scheduled for release in the second half of 2009, would end more than seven decades of exclusive Michelin supply to the French manufacturer in Europe. This day has finally arrived – Bridgestone has announced OE supply on the 2010 C3 compact and the DS3, the first model in Citroën’s new premium DS line.
Kwik-Fit is to supply Marangoni tyres from 1 February 2010, with all UK Kwik Fit centres receiving stocks of the company’s car, van and SUV tyres. Commenting on the new partnership, Greg Graham, UK brand manager, Marangoni Car Tyre Division said: “We are delighted that our brand has been chosen by Kwik Fit and we feel that it fits their requirements perfectly. Our exceptional value for money brand proposition was immediately recognised by Kwik Fit, as was the increasing consumer visibility we have worked hard to build over the years.”
Kwik-Fit’s Head of Buying, Keith Tabram, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Marangoni and look forward to a long and successful partnership. The Marangoni brand will strengthen our mid-range offering, giving customers a higher quality product, available in more sizes and with a reliability of supply from Europe that other manufacturers can struggle to achieve. Kwik-Fit’s customers will continue to benefit from the same range of benefits and peace of mind that we currently offer on our mid-range tyres.”
After an exciting ACU British Short Track Championship season, which saw Pete Boast take the victor’s spoils, some of motorcycle racing’s most famous names headed to Essex for the final event of 2009, the Braintree Bonanza on 27 December. Manufacturer Maxxis began its association with Short Track UK four years ago when Triple A Racing, the Manchester-based Maxxis tyre distributor, supplied tyres to a number of competitors. In 2009 all riders used the Maxxis DTR-1 flat track tyre, thanks to an agreement between the organisers and Triple A Racing, who jointly sponsored the series.
Dunlop, Aston Martin Racing’s official global GT2 Development Partner, is to work closely with the British manufacturer over a three-year period in order to develop the Vantage GT2, which the Dunlop supported team JMW Motorsport will race in the 2010 Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hour. According to Dunlop, an intensive testing programme gets underway this month ahead of the opening Le Mans Series race, the 8 Hours of Le Castellet, on April 9-11. Participation in a number of selected high profile events may be added to the team’s calendar at a later date.
Dunlop signed a contract to supply the Britcar GT and Production Championships for a further four seasons at the Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC today (14 January 2010. The Britcar GT Championship is said to be the biggest championship of its type in the UK. Bringing endurance racing to circuits all over the UK, Britcar has become the country’s fastest and most popular National GT Championship. 2010 will see the return of the Britcar 24 hour race, Britain’s ‘blue-riband’ endurance racing event at Silverstone on 2 – 3 October.
Coinciding with the current UK obsession with snow and ice-covered roads, consumer-based interactive review website Tyrereviews.co.uk has published its seven reasons for the country’s drivers to consider fitting winter tyres in the colder months, regardless of whether the current extreme conditions – for Britain at least – are a sign of things to come. Starting with the concept that UK drivers misunderstand winter tyres, compared to their status as a “legal requirement in most of northern Europe”, the website substantiates why UK road-users should think about purchasing seasonal rubber in greater quantities than currently seen – estimates put the UK market for winter tyres way under 1 per cent. The relatively new Tyrereviews.co.uk says that it aims to give motorists “impartial feedback on road and track tyres” by allowing “the people that drive on the tyres every day” the opportunity to review them.
Staff at Cooper Tire’s UK headquarters in Melksham raised more than £4,000 for the Help for Heroes charity last month with a festive raffle. The raffle, organised by HR officer Steve Forbes and Unite representative Steve Saunders, took place on 23 December and raised £2,052.03 for the forces charity. That amount was matched by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe, to bring the total to £4,104.06.
This winter has brought the severest conditions experienced for some years, and this has been bad news for many UK motorists – but good news for Goodyear. The tyre maker reports its use of the snow and ice as a springboard to educate motorists on the importance of road and tyre safety. While gaining media interest in tyres is usually a challenge, Goodyear says that, with driving and safety at the top of the agenda, it has been provided with a “good opportunity”.
Vipal Europe has announced plans to increase the prices of its retreading materials and repair products by 10 per cent on 1 February 2010. According to the Brazilian-based company’s European manager, Alessandro Bottesini Campos, the increase is due to market conditions and adjustment of some raw material costs: “Like all other manufacturers Vipal Europe has been impacted by the increases in transport, energy and labour costs.” Vipal Europe’s price increase, applies to all European countries served by the company. Different price increases may apply to other “specific regions or products.”
Coming up to the centenary of its entrance into motorcycle tyre production, Avon Motorcycle Tyres has reported a “successful year in 2009”, despite the UK suffering at the hands of a world-wide recession. The brand believes the breadth of its motorcycle tyre range, offering both performance and “value for money” oriented ranges, has helped it weather the storm. Speaking of storms, the brand closed the year by releasing a successor to its popular Storm ST family of sports-touring tyres at the International Motorcycle and Scooter show at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, in November. The new Storm 2 Ultra builds on the performance of the Storm ST and, says Avon, improves upon it in a number of areas. Developed from the award-winning Storm ST tyre, the company says the new Storm 2 Ultra offers more mileage and improved grip in all weathers and road conditions. The company also signalled its intentions for the coming year with the announcement in December that it would Avon Tyres has announced that it will be utilising what it terms “eco-friendly” or “clean oil” in its tyres from 2010. According to the manufacturer, the new tyres will be “eco-friendly with no effect on grip and indeed, in the case of some high-performance range tyres, will actually have increased levels of grip.”
Although Apollo Tyres, as CFO Sunam Sarkar told Indian publication Outlook Business in December, decided to pass up on the acquisition of Mexico’s Tornel, it is by no means ready to stop its global growth. The magazine reports that plans for a presence in Eastern Europe are still on the agenda.
Any niggling doubts you might hold as to whether there is space in your driveway for the Ferrari 458 Italia may be put to rest by Bridgestone’s announced supply of its new Potenza S-001 UHP tyre as original equipment on the recently released Italian supercar.
Hankook Tire reports its new European website is up and running in cyberspace. The multi-lingual site offers information on both company and product and Hankook notes that, thanks to the site’s flexible structure, news and facts tailored to the European market can be provided on a daily basis.
December’s Automechanika Shanghai exhibition attracted more exhibitors and visitors than ever, its organisers report. Between December 9 and 11 the fifth Automechanika show staged in Shanghai was home to 2,414 exhibitors, 22 per cent more than in 2008, and visitor numbers leapt 25 per cent to 38,551, with visitors from 132 countries present at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. International visitors represented 29 per cent of the total attendance figure, compared to 16 per cent at the previous show.
On 4 January Delticom AG, Europe’s leading online tyre dealer, predicted it will beat its full year 2009 revenue and earnings forecasts. While the severe weather has slowed down many business over the Christmas and New Year period, representatives of the Hanover, Germany-based Delticom report that the snowy weather helped 2009 sales past the 300 million euro mark. The company had previously forecast sales of 285 million euros for the period.
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