The North American premium touring tyre segment is the stated target for Nokian’s newest all-season tyre, the Nokian WR G3. The Finnish manufacturer says the combination of its “solid winter experience” plus the use of “environmentally friendly premium products” such as nanotechnology and canola oil in the tyre “guarantee their reliable functionality in the typically varying weather conditions of North America.”
Three new products have been added to Nokian Tyres’ Hakkapeliitta winter tyre range for the Nordic market and two new winter tyres have also been introduced for the Central European and North American markets. Announcing the five new products, company president and CEO Kim Gran stated “this is the biggest launch in the history of our company as we renew most of our winter tyre range. The new generation of Hakkapeliitta tyres is a significant upgrade to our long line of test winning products. We are looking forward to introducing the finely tuned safety and handling properties to the consumers.”
The statutory negotiations Nokian Tyres commenced in early November wound up on 17 December and the tyre maker has announced the cuts it will implement at its plant in Nokia, Finland. Antti-Jussi Tähtinen, vice-president of marketing and communications for Nokian, reports the planned improvements in productivity and production adjustments will be mainly achieved via temporary lay-offs. In addition, 28 production workers and officials will be laid off permanently.
Pan-European retail business point S says it is on top of the world – almost literally – after sponsoring the two races in the Nordic World Cup opening which was held Kuusamo, Finland on the weekend of the 1 and 2 December. point S congratulated the winners of the races it sponsored, which were: Marit Bjørgen, in the lady’s 5 km Cross Country and Petter Northug in the men’s 15 km Cross Country men’s. The event saw 25,000 spectators watch 10 World Cup contests, with 400 competitors from 30 nations and television coverage estimated to reach 100 million people.
Many used tyres that are being sold in Estonia are actually tyres that Finns have thrown away, according to the Estonian daily newspaper Õhtuleht. The paper quoted a Finnish mechanic who works at a garage who said that he often sees Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, but also Poles going through the container of used tyres behind the garage because most of the tyres there can still be used for a season or two.
The automotive and tyre industries will soon be able to conduct winter tyre tests at the Ivalo test centre in Finland all year round. This new development has nothing to do with climate change; in May Test World Oy began work on an indoor facility; this hall, which resembles those used for indoor skiing, is expected to be completed in November and ready for use by the end of the year.
Bridgestone has expressed pride in the contribution its Ecopia tyres made towards the completion of a 12,500 kilometre journey made by three all-electric Nissan Leaf cars within a 42 day period. This feat, the tyre maker comments, is thought to be the longest journey achieved by these electric vehicles in such a short period of time.
The penultimate round of the MSA British Rally Championship will move to Northern Ireland this week for the second all-asphalt round of the series, the Todds Leap Rally Northern Ireland on 17-18 August. Pirelli will bring a mixture of 15” to 17” RX7, RX5 and RE7 asphalt tyres; the RX7 is a medium compound tyre for dry conditions, while the RE7 is for dry and damp conditions and can be used as a full wet. The N3 will also be available in one 15” size for wet conditions. The tyre supplier also boasts the involvement of its 2012 Pirelli Star Driver, Jukka Korhonen, who will travel from his native Finland where he was competing on Rally Finland, round eight of the World Rally Championship. Korhonen made his competitive debut on asphalt in May when he finished second in class on the Jim Clark International Rally at the wheel of a TEG prepared Skoda Fabia R2.
Nokian has called the victory of one of its products in the German car magazine Auto Zeitung’s 2012 4×4 tyre test, which appeared in the 12/2012 addition of the publication, as an “outstanding result”. The Nokian Z SUV secured first place overall and was described as “very good on wet surfaces” with “safe handling characteristics, low rolling resistance.” Auto Zeitung also referred to the tyre as “good value.”
Production at Nokian’s new factory in Vsevolozhsk, built alongside the company’s existing plant, will begin in June 2012. Two production lines are scheduled to enter service this year and a further two are to begin production in 2013 and 2014. At this time, the plant’s annual capacity will be six million tyres and the two Russian factories will have a combined annual capacity of approximately 17 million tyres.
Linglong Tyres, manufactured by China’s third largest tyre maker, the Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., will exhibit its latest tyre range –Green-Max – at the upcoming Reifen show in Essen. The manufacturer describes this tyre, designed for the UHP segment, as its ultimate summer tyre.
Double British Rally Champion and former Pirelli Star Driver Keith Cronin claimed victory on this weekend’s Pirelli International Rally, the third round of the 2012 Pirelli-supported MSA British Rally Championship. Pirelli Star Driver Jukka Korhonen shone in his TEG-prepared Skoda Fabia R2 at the weekend, securing his best finish of the season with sixth overall, and second in class. Meanwhile, a sterling performance in a Ford Fiesta R2 allowed 21-year old, Jussi Kumpumaki who is part of the Finnish Ford Junior Team, was presented with the coveted Pirelli yellow jersey and a nomination towards the end of season Pirelli Star Driver shoot out.
Test World Oy, the well-known winter tyre and vehicle test operation in Finland has announced plans to build a year-round winter test centre which to fulfil the needs of vehicle and tyre manufacturers. According to the company, the first phase of construction will start in May 2012 and this part of the site will be in operation before the end of the year. The three-phase project to create the 30,000 square metre test centre will be completed by the end of 2015.
GT Radial took its European dealers to Test World’s Mellatracks Proving Ground in Ivalo, Finland on 19-24 March to test the Champiro WinterPro and studded Champiro IcePro winter tyres. Facing a range of snow and ice handling tests, the brand showed its winter tyres’ ability; the unstudded WinterPro, most suitable for European markets such as Germany and the growing UK segment, is TÜV-SÜD accredited, having completed a tyre comparison test in 2010.
In its 2011 annual report, Nokian Tyres has singled Russia out as the company’s strongest growth area. Reporting rising sales in all Nokian’s key regions – the Nordic markets, Central Europe and Russia – and growing market share in the last two of these, president and CEO Kim Gran stated that “as expected, this development was strongest in Russia, which, boosted by the car business, represented approximately one-half of our growth.”
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.