The Executive Board of Axle Group Holdings Limited have ratified a £12 million, three-year inward investment strategy to help drive its business forward. Further announcements specifically relating to the firm’s acquisition strategy are expected.
Goodyear’s latest concept tyre, introduced at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show in March, once again sees the company look forward in a bid to lead discussions relating to the future of mobility. However, this also has an inevitable impact on the future of the tyre industry – which is where Goodyear’s FACE (Fleet Autonomous Connected Electric) acronym comes in. More on that later. First, the headline grabbing products – the Oxygene and the EfficientGrip Performance with Electric Drive Technology.
Formula One Autocentres’ expansion programme continues apace with its recent acquisition of Equipe Tyre & Autocare centres. With nine local branches, Equipe Autocare is one of the North West’s leading tyre and autocare specialists, offering tyres, exhausts, servicing, MOTs, brakes, clutches and air-conditioning.
This acquisition sees the number of Formula One Autocentres’ nationwide branches reach over 100 in total. The company, which is one of the UK’s largest independently owned automotive chains, is continuing with ongoing expansion plans laid out for the coming months and years.
The latest news from South Korea suggests that local tyre distributor and retail network operator Tire Bank Co. Ltd. would like to purchase the Kumho Tire shareholding that China’s Qingdao Doublestar Tire is currently negotiating to acquire from creditors. The unexpected appearance of the Daejeon-based firm, which hinted it may bid together with one or more partners, further complicates an already drawn out and difficult transaction.
With an investment of approximately 290 million euros, Hankook Tire is adding a truck tyre production unit to its factory in Rácalmás, Hungary. Work on this expansion project – the fourth since the plant opened in 2007 – will begin in June, with production expected to commence in June 2020. The truck tyre production unit will have the capacity to make 550,000 tyres a year, and its opening will create around 150 new jobs.
The GitiSynergyE1 has been selected as original equipment for the Seat Arona in size 205/60R16 92H. It is the third vehicle based on Volkswagen’s MQB A0 small car platform to roll out on a Giti Tire. The latest model in the steadily growing small SUV segment, the Arona is produced in Seat’s Martorell plant in Spain alongside the Ibiza.
MWheels will meet with the Department for Transport (DfT) and DVSA to understand why the EU Roadworthiness Directive, and its section on CV wheels, has not been incorporated in UK law. The DfT’s draft Heavy Goods Vehicle Inspection Manual, due to come into force from 20 May 2018, shows “no major changes” to section 06, Road Wheels and Hubs. This is despite the British firm’s eight-year campaign, which saw major input in both Periodic (2014/45/EU) and Roadside (2014/47/EU) documents. Both were expected to be fully adopted by all 27 Member States as part of the EU’s drive to create standardised inspection procedures.
Stating that such an acquisition would be “in perfect strategic alignment with its ambition to leverage its expertise in high-technology materials,” Michelin has announced its intention to purchase UK-based firm Fenner PLC.
The Michelin brand’s value has grown some 30 per cent to US$7.9 billion in the latest Brand Finance Tyres 10 ranking. As a result Bibendum is now the world’s most valuable tyre brand.
Michelin has launched a new CrossClimate tyre to take on the demanding conditions in which European van drivers increasingly operate. Having successfully rolled out the “summer tyre with winter capabilities” to the consumer market with two iterations of CrossClimates for cars and an SUV version, Michelin has extended the concept to light commercial operators with the Agilis CrossClimate. To mark its launch, Michelin demonstrated the tyre’s winter characteristics at a special test site in the French Alps. With the so-called Beast from the East providing the most extreme winter driving conditions the UK has seen in more than a decade as Tyres & Accessories goes to print, the appeal of products to handle such conditions while also suiting the mostly moderate climate in a market disinclined to fit winter tyres seems likely to receive at least a short-term boost.
Bentley has been unveiling what it calls the first hybrid electric super-luxury car at the Geneva Motor Show. Other manufacturers (like Porsche) may disagree with this assertion, but the launch marks something of a landmark for the industry with more and more emphasis being paid to the new generation of electric and hybrid vehicles. Indeed, during the company’s latest financial results, Pirelli’s Marco Tronchettic Provera even spoke about the digitisation of the company’s business as if it is normal – something that was followed by the launch of Pirelli’s Cyber Car in Geneva at the start of March. In short, the Cyber Car system offers an OEM solution to send data from the tyres to the car and from the car to the cloud for the benefit of that particular driver as well as road-users in general.
In what was a world premiere for the company, Yokohama launches the BluEarth-4S AW21 at the 2018 Geneva Show. The tyre is Yokohama’s first European market all-season tyre and will be available from Autumn 2018. The tyre will initially be available in over 30 sizes, ranging from 255/50R19 107W to 175/65R14 82T and the company plans to gradually expand the line-up of available tyre sizes.
Michelin has developed a new Pilot Sport Cup 2 K2 ultra-high performance tyre for Ferrari’s new 488 Pista supercar. The new model will run on 245/35 ZR20 (front) and 305/30 ZR20 (rear) sizes, with the tyre manufacturer’s latest generation road-legal track tyre co-developed specially with Ferrari.
Last year Pirelli presented the Pirelli Connesso system in Geneva, this year the tyre make is taking the technology behind that aftermarket tyre sensor integration solution to the next level with an OE-orientated version that the company calls Cyber Car.
Apollo has launched the Aspire XP in a total line-up of 52 SKUs, replacing Apollo’s range of Aspire 4G and Apterra HP tyres. The new summer car tyre, which is available now, is being exhibited at the Geneva International Motor Show between 8 and 18 March. The Apollo Aspire XP is manufactured in Europe at the Apollo Vredestein plants in the Netherlands and Hungary.
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