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Yokohama consolidates OTR tyre businesses into Yokohama Off-Highway Tires

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The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is consolidating its various off-highway businesses into a single entity. The new division – Yokohama Off-Highway Tires – will include Alliance Tire Group (ATG), which Yokohama bought four years ago and Yokohama’s off-the-road (OTR) tyre businesses across the globe. The move can also be interpreted as a prelude to the announcement of the result of Yokohama’s bid for the Prometeon tyre business, talks about which got underway last year.

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Related news:

  1. Yokohama’s Prometeon bid: Delayed by Covid, but nearing completion
  2. Yokohama to buy ex-Pirelli commercial/industrial tyre business Prometeon
  3. Yokohama investing US$165 million in new India OTR tyre factory
  4. Alliance name comes to Chelsea FC sleeve ahead of car tyre range’s European launch
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Auto Bild tests all-season tyres – 5 ‘exemplary’ products

The tyre test team at Auto Bild has been busy of late. In addition to recommending the best car, SUV and high-performance tyres for the coming winter, the German publication has taken a look at all-season tyres. It fitted 32 brands of size 205/55 R16 tyre to a VW Golf, and after an elimination round of wet and dry braking tests evaluated the 14 top performers in wet, dry and snow conditions. Five of the candidates received Auto Bild’s top ‘exemplary’ rating and were considered every bit as good as summer or winter tyres.

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Related news:

  1. Auto Bild names Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 all-season tyre test winner
  2. Year-round all-rounders: Auto Bild tests its all-season tyre finalists
  3. Auto Bild summer tyre test: Elimination round
  4. ‘One-sided, unrepresentative, unrealistic’ – Michelin criticises Auto Bild tyre test
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Siemens Energy sale good for Conti group spin off – Analysts

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Vitesco

Following the reports that Continental is in talks to sell off various parts of its wider group, analysts have responded positively to Siemens’ recent sale of its Energy division, saying it is good for Conti.

Upgrading their rating to “buy”, Jefferies analysts said: “Siemen’s recent spin-off of Energy gives confidence that Conti’s share price will benefit from its planned spin-off of Vitesco as the combined market cap of Siemens and Energy was up 7 per cent on the day of transaction (DAX +3%)” The implication, they explained, was that there was a discount in Siemens’ sum-of-the-parts valuation. That being the case, given Conti’s “more attractive transaction structure”, the analysts predicted that Conti’s “re-rating should be more pronounced.”

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Related news:

  1. Dunlop Aircraft Tyres confirms sale talks
  2. Continental delays Vitesco spin-off
  3. Continental AG measures ‘encouraging’, but R&D budgets and European tyre factories could be cut – analysts
  4. Continental in talks to sell parts of its group
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Falken Tire takes pole position in 2020 global social media ranking

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Gerd Altman; Pixabay

As Tyres & Accessories annual global social media ranking enters its seventh edition, this year there is a new winner. Last year’s champion, Pirelli, has fallen two places to third position. At the same time, Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ Falken brand rose an impressive eight positions to take the top spot. And Pirelli wasn’t the only well-known name to downshift, with two other brands taking retrograde steps. At the same time, in a reflection of what has taken place in the UK-only ranking, the top 10 has a new entry, with previously 10th-ranked MRF being overtaken by another large Indian tyremaker.

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Related news:

  1. Michelin tops 2020 UK social media ranking, Davanti enters top 10
  2. Pirelli leading global social media tyre brand 2015
  3. Pirelli regains global social media crown
  4. Michelin takes global social media double
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Online tyre prices went up as lockdown bit

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Peter Linforth; Pixabay

In October’s magazine, Tyres & Accessories takes a closer look at the latest developments in the multifaceted online tyre business. This article specifically looks at online tyre buying and pricing in conjunction with tyre pricing and selling-way data specialists Encircle Marketing. However, this is just one dimension in the online tyre business. In addition to online tyre retail, there is also the question of online marketing, an area in which social networks are playing an increasing important role (see separate article for further details). And on top of this, there is the electronic infrastructure necessary for the tyre business to participate – beginning with increasingly smart web sites and going onto integrated pricing and marketing tools.

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Related news:

  1. Tirescanner sales up 150% year-to-date
  2. Wide variation in prices achieved by different brands and platforms online
  3. Goodyear steps up tyre retail involvement with new UK digital platform
  4. Michelin tops 2020 UK social media ranking, Davanti enters top 10
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Michelin tops 2020 UK social media ranking, Davanti enters top 10

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Photo Mix; Pixabay

For the fourth year in a row, Michelin can be found at the top of Tyres & Accessories’ 2020 UK social media ranking. Indeed, such is Michelin’s dominance in the annual table, only Goodyear (in 2012) and Dunlop (in 2016) have done enough to overtake the UK arm of the French tyre brand since our research began in 2011. In both cases, Michelin still managed to take second place.

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Related news:

  1. Michelin takes global social media double
  2. Falken Tire takes pole position in 2020 global social media ranking
  3. Cooper tops global social media ranking
  4. Pirelli leading global social media tyre brand 2015
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Cutting ‘bad’ costs, working smarter – Apollo MD Neeraj Kanwar answers T&A’s questions

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One way or another 2020 has been an eventful year for all of us. The same is true at Apollo Tyres where, at a global level, the company has had to navigate pandemic-related production pauses and restarts along with new factory openings and the decision to enter the two-wheel segment. At the same time as continuing to develop the Apollo brand, the company has also given the Vredestein brand a big push during the last month or so. First, with the launch of a new all-season range, then with the introduction of a new North American tyre line-up and – in order to support both – a pitch-side advertising partnership with Manchester United football club. Tyres & Accessories recently interviewed Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and MD, Apollo Tyres Ltd in order to find out more.

Tyres & Accessories logoThis interview appears in full in the November edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.

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Related news:

  1. Apollo Tyres opens €475 million greenfield Hungarian plant
  2. Conserving costs, maximising business: Apollo Tyres’ response to the coronavirus pandemic
  3. Apollo aims for leadership in Indian two-wheel tyre market, Europe next
  4. Michelin launching CrossClimate 2
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Hankook extending core competencies to drive future growth

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Hankook

Hankook’s global launch of Laufenn brand commercial vehicle tyres, targeting the segment’s second tier, represents a substantial development for the company’s commercial vehicle tyre business. For the UK market in which Hankook is a leader in terms of sales, the initial nine Laufenn patterns cover more than 85 per cent of tyres in the market for goods and people transportation, as well as construction truck tyres. Most sizes also offer the three peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) marking for use in winter conditions. The Laufenn range was due to be presented in the UK at the Commercial Vehicle Show, before the Birmingham NEC event was cancelled due to the pandemic. Tyres & Accessories took the opportunity of the launch to speak to Guy Heywood, Hankook’s European marketing and strategy director for its truck and bus business, and UK sales director Paul Emery about the addition of Laufenn to the manufacturer’s European commercial vehicle tyre portfolio, Hankook’s position as a leading player in the segment, and its response to the coronavirus crisis and the financial headwinds emanating from the pandemic.

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Related news:

  1. Laufenn launch makes Hankook more holistic commercial tyre supplier
  2. CV Show launch for Laufenn truck tyre range
  3. Hankook introduces new Laufenn truck and bus tyres for UK market
  4. ETRMA data confirms steep drop in replacement tyre sales
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Roadbot roadblock – Middle Eastern tyre factory stalls due to pandemic

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Roadbot tyres

In January 2019, the ground was broken on the US$614 million Roadbot tyre plant in Abu Dhabi. Local news sources described the project as a milestone in the capital of the United Arab Emirates as recently as January 2020. However, the project has since hit a roadblock as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tyres & Accessories has seen documents that show how recent progress has been limited, though initial steps seem to have progressed well. Specifically, the official letter from Roadbot Tyre Industries dated July 2020 confirms that all the necessary planning applications, architectural designs and structure drawings have been approved and completed. Yet critical machinery work came to a standstill in March 2020.

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Related news:

  1. Roadbot’s $600 million UAE tyre plant
  2. Pyramids Tires: $350 million Egyptian factory begins manufacturing
  3. NTC to build greenfield tyre factory in Saudi Arabia
  4. Nokian to invest $360 million in new US tyre factory
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Bridgestone’s Blizzak LM005 wins Auto Express winter tyre test

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Bridgestone

Bridgestone’s Blizzak LM005 tyre has won the Auto Express Winter Tyre Test 2020 beating 205/55 R16 tyres from seven other manufacturers to the top of the table. Auto Express cited the tyre’s performance in the wet as a key factor. The tyre, which boasts an ‘A’ tyre label grade for wet grip across the full range, has secured Bridgestone’s first Auto Express test win and follows on from a series of improved results in recent times. However, there were strong performances from Hankook’s Winter i*cept RS2 (2nd) and Michelin’s Alpin 6 (3rd). At the same time, we have to note that Hankook Goodyear and Dunlop each won individual categories as well as Bridgestone, of course. Looking forward, Continental’s TS 870 has to be described as the one that got away because it’s market-beating performance couldn’t be counted owing to the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the new tyre’s release for a year.

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Related news:

  1. Conti seals hat-trick in Auto Express winter tyre test reflecting British climate
  2. Michelin the number one consumer researched tyre brand: Tyre Reviews
  3. 19 finalists chosen for 2015 AutoBild winter tyre test
  4. 3 tyres rated ‘exemplary’ in Auto Bild’s winter tyre test
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SUV winter test: A win for Goodyear, budget tyre dangerous

An absence of alps, frequent sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfalls make winter tyres a hard sell in the UK. And just as our football fans’ capacity to brave the cold has earned them bemused respect throughout Europe, the average British motorist is content to soldier on with summer tyres even when the mercury drops. But for those who decide to invest in a set of dedicated winter tyres, it’s worth making sure you know what you’re getting.

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Related news:

  1. Continental, Goodyear joint winners in Sportauto winter tyre test
  2. Conti seals hat-trick in Auto Express winter tyre test reflecting British climate
  3. Auto Bild Allrad tests winter SUV tyres
  4. SUV all-season test: Auto Bild Allrad finds 5 excellent tyres
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Hankook producing Alphatread retreads in the DACH market

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NRZ; Arno Borchers

Hankook’s story is undoubtedly one of extraordinary growth. The South Korean-based manufacturer inaugurated its car tyre plant in Hungary in 2007, which currently produces around 19 million tyres annually. In parallel, the company has succeeded in becoming an OE supplier to nearly all European premium manufacturers. The same applies to truck tyres, albeit to a lesser extent. Even if Hankook only postponed plans to expand its Hungarian factory to include truck tyre production until the end of last year due to economic uncertainties, market observers can see that the tyremaker holds double-digit truck tyre market shares in in many European. For Hankook, this isn’t the end of the success story, but rather the introduction to even more extensive growth. Moving forward, Hankook was respond more fully to the increasingly demanding needs of European truck tyre replacement market customers.

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Related news:

  1. Hankook is transforming itself into a system provider with the help of Reifen Müller
  2. Laufenn launch makes Hankook more holistic commercial tyre supplier
  3. Is Hankook the current UK truck tyre market leader?
  4. New European Tyre Label set for May 2021 introduction
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Green restart: Retreaded tyres as a decarbonisation aide

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Michelin

Despite the fact that the UK was in the middle of lockdown, Michelin Tyre Plc’s ultra-modern retread manufacturing operation resumed production at the end of April. In fact, according to the company, there were only two reasons that the Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent site paused manufacturing at all: because the coronavirus-related closures coincided with a pre-planned maintenance stoppage; and because – again due to Covid-19 – there was trouble securing deliveries of the right raw materials from the continent prior to April (see “Michelin Stoke up-and-running, looking forward to ‘steady market growth’” for Michelin UK factory manager Francois Levert’s view on how things have progressed after reopening). Therefore, Michelin UK’s retread manufacturing operation only actually endured a three-week factory shutdown. The neighbouring UK headquarters opened in mid-July and so now its truck tyre and retreading business is putting the focus on success in the new normal. This began with a communications drive that has seen the manufacturer promote the ecological benefits of retreads. Tyres & Accessories spoke with Michelin Plc managing director Chris Smith in order to find out more.

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Related news:

  1. Michelin UK resuming production at Stoke retreading factory
  2. Vaculug names new MD, fleet appointments
  3. Michelin Stoke up-and-running, looking forward to ‘steady market growth’
  4. Arthur Gregg new Bandvulc MD
/by

New car registrations drop -4.4 per cent in weakest ever ‘new plate’ September

SMMT

The UK new car market declined -4.4 per cent in September, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The sector recorded 328,041 new registrations in the month – the weakest September since the introduction of the dual number plate system in 1999 and some -15.8 per cent lower than the 10-year average of around 390,000 units for the month.

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Related news:

  1. September car registrations – painting a true picture?
  2. Year-to-date car registrations overtake 2012 full-year total
  3. 30th consecutive month of growth in UK car registrations – SMMT
  4. UK truck market down -22.5% in Q1 2020
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September registrations: Market shifts towards private ownership of hybrid cars

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SMMT

Overall registrations remain under great pressure, but the latest new car sales figures point to another bumper month for electric vehicles. Meanwhile, diesel-fuelled internal combustion engine vehicles have taken the biggest hit. There are also signs that vehicle ownership preferences are changing. But what does this mean for the shape of the car market that feeds aftermarket tyre sales?

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Related news:

  1. UK car registrations fall to 2013 levels
  2. UK new car sales fell 44.4% in March due to coronavirus
  3. 2016 car sales peak at 2.7 million units
  4. New car registrations drop -4.4 per cent in weakest ever ‘new plate’ September
/by

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