Fines for drivers of all motor vehicles – including motorcyclists, – who are caught without a breathalyser kit, will be implemented in France from March 2013, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists. The fines were due to be enforced from 1 November 2012.
New car registration figures for the EU from ACEA show that demand for new cars was down -10.8% in September, amounting to 1,099,264 units, compared with September 2011. Nine months into the year, the downturn reached -7.6%, with a total of 9,368,327 new cars registered in the EU.
France has long been associated with fashion, and the organiser of the upcoming Pneu Expo 2013, which takes place next March in Lyon, has ensured visitors to the tyre industry show don’t miss out on this French tradition. Organiser Editions VB says that on the exhibition’s opening night visitors will be able to attend a fashion show, in which “graceful models will parade in sexy outfits composed of…recycled inner tube.”
This month Bridgestone Europe is launching a new advertising campaign to support its winter tyre range; the integrated multimedia campaign will be shown in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden and is aimed at demonstrating how Bridgestone tyres keep “winter under control”.
Welshman Elfyn Evans has become the second-ever winner of the Pirelli-supported WRC Academy, a series attached to the FIA World Rally Championship and designed to identify future champions by pitting young drivers against each other in identical Ford Fiesta R2 rally cars. When Evans took his fourth consecutive win this year on the all-asphalt Rallye de France, his table tally rose to a level that put the title mathematically out of his rivals’ reach, despite there being one round of the Academy left to go this year.
Statistics shared at Continental’s recent European ContiWinterRoadshow indicate that a total of 73.8 million winter passenger car and 4×4 tyres were sold in Western Europe last year and a further 18.7 million in Central Europe. These figures are up 12.8 per cent and 10.7 per cent year-on-year respectively. Last year’s sale of 92.5 million units is viewed as a ‘peak’ for winter tyres; Continental says it expects sales to stabilise at around 90 million by 2015. This year, the German manufacturer anticipates that both the Western and Central European markets will experience a moderate decline; it estimates 65.8 million winter passenger car and 4×4 tyres will be sold in Western Europe and 17.7 million in Central Europe.
SD International was established ten years ago and in headquartered in Shanghai, with sales offices in the UK France, Slovakia, Argentina and Dubai. The contract tyre manufacturing specialist has a wide portfolio of private brands, including Maxtrek, Pace, Briland, Zeta and Autoguard.
With little over a month until the EU tyre labelling legislation becomes mandatory, independent DriveRight report an influx of enquiries from all over Europe for labelling information via their EC1222.com website. When the EC1222/2009 legislation was announced, DriveRight foresaw a need for an independent supplier of label information. The company, with its 12 years of experience in the tyre industry, obtained the data of 91 major manufacturers and launched EC1222.com as an independent entity.
After declining by 7.8 per cent in July, new passenger car registrations in Europe were down by 8.9 per cent in August. Eight months into the year, the downturn reached 7.1 per cent as the EU registered 8,268,642 new cars.
The Pirelli P Zero has taken top honours in Evo magazine’s annual tyre test. The Pirelli tyre and its rivals from Continental, Dunlop, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Nexen and Vredestein were put through their paces on a circuit in the south of France, where wet handling, dry handling, braking and aquaplaning were assessed, followed by a drive on a mixed road route designed to replicate real world conditions.
Sailun says its winter tyres has been established in the North American and Canadian market for several years, and the company is now seeking to increase its seasonal prominence in Europe with its Ice Blazer range. Sailun is accessing the continental markets through appointed distributors covering traditionally strong winter tyre markets in Scandinavia and the Baltic region, as well as in Germany, where recent legislation has increased the profile of winter products, and Austria. Now, Sailun says it is seeking to add distribution of the product to the more temperate climates of France, Benelux and the UK, where it says distributors are “considering stocking the Ice Blazer patterns”.
Established in 2002 and with the backing of the highly-regarded Mesnac Company Limited, Sailun reports that it is gaining a “fast-growing reputation” for its radial truck tyre range. According to the company, its development has been fuelled by quality standards enhanced by the research, design and technical testing facilities occupied by over 300 technical Sailun engineers and staff in the National Economic and Technological Development Zone in Qingdao.
The RMI Petrol Retailers' Association (PRA), which represents independent forecourts across the UK, urges the UK Government to follow France in cutting fuel prices.
The French government and the major oil companies have agreed to cut fuel prices by up to 6 euro cents per litre for three months to help drivers hit by a recent increase in prices, said Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems says its naming as official partner for the Massey Ferguson “Vision of the Future” event strengthened its strategic partnership with its agricultural OEM customer. The event, held at the company’s tractor manufacturing headquarters in Beauvais, France between 22 August and 1 September, was attended by more than five thousand agricultural professionals from across Europe. The Swedish tyre maker showcased its latest innovations in the field of sustainable farming during the event, along with its latest tyre and complete wheel solutions.
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Former Sibur-Russian Tyres CEO Vadim Gurinov has been appointed president of Russian engineering construction company Stroytransgaz, replacing Sergey Makarov following the latter’s resignation. Gurinov, who was elected to the post on 22 August, is a member of Stroytransgaz’s Board of Directors and continues to hold the post of chairman of tyre maker JSC Cordiant’s Board of Directors.
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