Figures released by ACEA, the European association of automobile manufacturers, show that, in May, demand for new passenger cars in the EU was down (-8.7 per cent) for the eighth consecutive month. In total, 1,106,845 new cars were recorded in the region. May 2012 counted on average one working day less than May 2011.
At the General Assembly of the international association for parts distributors, FIGIEFA, held on 24 May in Brussels, president of the German association GVA, Hartmut Rohl, was unanimously voted (with 34 votes) to the position of Figiefa president for the second time. He takes over from Michel Vilatte of FEDA (France) who was elected to the vice-president’s role with 30 votes. IAAF chief executive Brian Spratt was elected as Figiefa’s new treasurer with 31 votes.
In April, new CV registrations fell by 1.2 per cent in France, 1.6 per cent in Germany, 13.3 per cent in the UK, 28.9 per cent in Spain and 38.6 per cent in Italy. Four months into the year, downturn continued its course (-10.1 per cent) as all major markets shrank. France remained the largest market, despite a 4.7 per cent contraction, followed by Germany (-1.2 per cent) and the UK (-9.8 per cent). Spain (-24.1 per cent) and Italy (-36.7 per cent) recorded more severe drops. In total, 589,987 vehicles were registered throughout the period.
Around 30 million euros have been earmarked for productivity and energy efficiency upgrades at the Lanxess high performance rubber facility in Port Jérôme, France, the company announced on 30 May. This investment will be made by 2015, and will support Lanxess’ aim of increasing capacity for rubber grades used in low rolling resistance tyres. The plant, established by Firestone in 1962 by and purchased by Lanxess in 2004, currently produces 140,000 tonnes of neodymium-polybutadiene (Nd-PBR) and solution styrene-butadiene (SSBR) per annum.
Research and Markets has published a report analysing key elements of the five leading tyre markets in Europe during the period 2011-2015; the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. The report notes the “significant impact” of the 2008-2009 economic crisis, during which all countries experienced reduced sales in 2008 and 2009, which was followed by uniform recovery through 2010, based on essential replacements. Each country went on to experience various levels of sales downturn in 2011.
Goodyear Dunlop has announced the winner of its 2012 Dunlop Art Car Competition, a contest to find innovative designs for the Dunlop-sponsored JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 GT2 car. Egidijus Gužauskas from Lithuania provided the winning design, featuring a paint-splash effect. The car will first race in its new livery at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Dunlop has a long and successful history to its name, having 34 victories at the iconic endurance race.
Infinity Tyres has signed a distribution deal with Groupe Massa in France. The group operates through several subsidiary companies focusing on retail, logistics, retreading and wholesale, and the brand will be distributed through the Massa Pneus retail network and the business-to-business Imagine Car operation, which it says is the largest wholesaler on the French market.
Following the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association report on passenger car registrations, market research company JATO Dynamic has added its new car sales analysis for the region. The headline figures are declines of 6.1 per cent in April, the lowest monthly decline of the year so far, and 7.1 per cent in year-to-date compared to 2011. Focusing more on the top ten brands, JATO explained that Renault and Opel/Vauxhall experienced the largest fall in sales during April of 16.9 and 16.1 per cent respectively, while Volkswagen maintains top position, ahead of Ford.
April 2012 passenger car registrations in the European Union hit ten-year lows according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. There was a decline overall in the Union of 6.9 per cent in comparison with April 2011, itself a decade-long low – a fair comparison, given that there were the same number of working days in each month. The UK and Germany bucked the trend, posting modest growth in April at 3.3 and 2.9 per cent respectively.
Despite trends pointing towards ever-increasing rim diameters, tyres for smaller vehicle categories still enjoy strong customer appeal. This is due not only to rising demand in Central Europe but also to the trend towards growing numbers of smaller cars in the compact and medium-size categories. Traditionally strong in the OE business, thus Continental expects a healthy response to its latest summer tyre, the ContiPremiumContact 5.
Tyre labelling will play a key role in driving improved fuel efficiency in Europe, according to Goodyear Dunlop. In a survey carried out by the company, results showed that only 40 per cent of operators purchased fuel efficient tyres for their vehicles. While some may suggest this means many have bought into the technology, Goodyear representatives report that “this implies that more than half of the commercial vehicle fleets in Europe are unnecessarily burning fuel and therefore missing the opportunity to reduce their operating costs.”
Labelling, Goodyear believes, will make operators aware of the importance of tyres with regard to fuel efficiency, and help to reduce not only operating costs through tyre choice but also CO2 emissions.
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Vipal, one of the largest manufacturers retreading and repair materials, has agreed to sponsor the Buggyra Formula Truck team for the second consecutive year.
In the 2011 season, Vipal participated with a VIP area in 5 of the 10 races and brought 75 customers, mainly retreaders form across Europe to the events. The races invited partners to were at Misano, Italy; Albacete, Spain; Nurburgring, Germany; Most, Czech Republic; and Le Mans, France. This year Vipal will participate with VIP areas in Istanbul, Donington, Nurburgring, Most and Jarama.
Art experts take note – the 10 May deadline is approaching for the Dunlop Art Car Competition, in which racing fans and artists have the chance to design the livery for a Ferrari F458 Italia competing in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is the fourth year that a Dunlop car’s design has been created by competition winners – but Dunlop says this year there is a big difference – designers/artists have a much freer canvas for designing the look of the Dunlop-sponsored Ferrari F458 Italia entered by JMW Motorsport.
Following positive experiences at its Mt. Vernon, USA plant, Continental has implemented a ‘Work-in-Process’ (WIP) Visibility solution from AeroScout at its tyre plant in Sarreguemines, France. AeroScout, a specialist in enterprise visibility solutions, first supplied the Wi-Fi RFID-enabled solution to Continental Tire the Americas as part of expansion plans for the Mt. Vernon facility; AeroScout says its product helped enable the site achieve a 20 per cent reduction in component tyre losses. Continental anticipates the French project will increase daily output at Sarreguemines by 4,000 units.
Bridgestone Europe indicates that is sponsorship of the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup events will continue in the 2012/13 season. The company will thus be a main partner at 35 World Cup Alpine Ski events in eight European countries – Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland – starting in October 2012. As in the previous season, Bridgestone will supplement its sponsorship branding package on start huts, gate flags and athlete singlets with high-visibility track-side signage and local marketing programmes.
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