The Supervisory Board of Continental AG (Hanover) has appointed Martien de Louw (56) to the company’s Executive Board, with responsibility for the Passenger Tire division. Board chairman Manfred Wennemer (55) previously oversaw the division in addition to his other duties. De Louw will take up his new assignment on February 1, 2003.
Ahead of the official figures, analysts are predicting a fall of 6 per cent in November for sales of cars in Western Europe. All of the five major markets showed a drop in sales. France was down 10 per cent, the UK down 6.8 per cent, German sales fell 6 per cent, Spain was down 8.7 per cent and Italy showed a small fall of 1.3 per cent. Among the car manufacturers, the only positive growth (+10 per cent) was for the Japanese companies, notably Mazda, Mitsubishi and Subaru. Ford was next best, showing a decline in sales of only 1.9 per cent. The worst performers were Fiat and BMW (both down around 20 per cent).
Kumho will be the sole supplier to the new Formula 3 Euro Series, supplying its ECSTA Formula 3 slicks and wet weather tyres to all teams. The series comprises ten races between April and October next year and the races take place in five different countries (Germany, Italy, France, Austria and The Netherlands).
European anti-trust inspectors have launched raids on six chemicals companies suspected of fixing prices in carbon black, a product used in the tyre industry. The surprise inspections were carried out on Tuesday at premises of the six firms in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, the European Commission said. The European Union’s executive arm said it was looking for “evidence of a cartel agreement and related illegal practices concerning in particular price-fixing for carbon black”. Degussa has admitted it is being investigated, in addition to Phelps Dodge and Cabot Corp whose shares fell at the news. “Entirely in line with our corporate compliance rules, we are fully cooperating with the investigation,” Degussa said in a statement. “We are confident that the investigation will prove soon that price fixing within the carbon black industry did not happen,” it added.
Sales of new cars in Europe during May fell by 8 per cent to 1.29 million vehicles; the largest drop for fifteen months. Of the five biggest markets, only the UK showed growth, while sales in Germany declined 14 per cent, Italy down 11 per cent and France down 8.6 per cent. The German figure was influenced by strikes at a number of car plants during May. Industry experts describe the west European car market as “being in the doldrums” and some predict that it will continue to fall until next year.
The UK, according to the Guardian, is at threat from mosquitoes imported in used tyre casings. In the past year an Asian breed of mosquito has been found breeding in Brittany, thought to have been imported with used tyre casings. Other species have been found in France, Belgium, Italy and Albania. These insects may not only spread malaria, but dengue fever, yellow fever, equine encephalitis and West Mile virus. There are calls to set up a register of tyre importers and to monitor for mosquitoes at their depots.
Almost 14,000 applied for the Dunlop Drivers Cup, but only 30 have been the lucky ones to realise their life’s greatest driving adventure. Ten days travelling through Australia guided only by a roadbook – on sand (with a Toyota off-road vehicle) and asphalt (with a TT roadster), through the outback, along the majestic coastline of the Great Ocean Road, crossing/passing the Snowy Mountains up to the spectacular finish in front of the famous Sydney Opera House. Between start and finish the “Dunlop Drivers” had to travel a distance of almost 4,000 kilometres and to pass difficult test sections containing elements of motor-sports. With this event the tyre producer wanted to create interest in the topic of driving safety within the main target group of the sporty drivers, interested in motorsports. The second motive is to demonstrate the influence of tyres on safe driving. The next Dunlop Drivers Cup (DDC) will be held in Malaysia in 2003, but there will be a major change in the concept: the DDC will take place with international teams. It is already clear that teams from Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Australia and the United States will join the event in February 2003. There is also a question-mark over the contribution of France, Poland and Hungary. “In the end the number of teams could grow from 15 up to 20 or 25”, said Dieter Seibert, Director Advertising Europe at Dunlop. General Motors is preferred as the official partner from the automotive side. Seibert’s midterm ideas for the future of the DDC go far beyond this point: he aims to reach a closer co-operation with the original equipment customers. Furthermore there could be scope for virtual race experiences supported by the computer. “Another idea is to connect the DDC more strongly with the topic of tyre and car development, for instance by visiting production facilities, technical centres or by using company owned proving grounds. The regional qualifications for Malaysia will be held from June to August, the national qualifications will take place in September – as usual.
Michelin has announced that it will take on more than 1,000 new staff in France in the coming year. These new positions come in addition to the 1,000 new posts planned after the introduction of the 35 hour working week.
Michelin PAX System became a standard feature on the top-of-the-range versions of the Renault Scénic (Fairway and Sport Way). According to the vehicle manufacturer’s forecasts, these two models could represent 40 % of Scénic sales in France, or around 35,000 vehicles per year in the first year. PAX System remains available as an option in the rest of Europe.
Goodyear has sold its speciality chemical business to Littlejohn & Company, a Connecticut-based private company, for an undisclosed sum. The chemical business is based in France and had sales of over $120 million in 2000; its sale is part of Goodyear’s strategy to dispose of non-core assets and reduce debt.
It is reported that workers at Michelin in France have accepted the management’s proposal to reduce the working week from 39 hours to 35. This move will make Michelin eligible for state aid, believed to be worth around 30 million Euro. The majority of white collar workers voted in favour, but there was a slim majority against the proposal among blue-collar workers. Overall, 60 per cent of workers voted to accept.
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe has announced the appointment of three managing directors for France, Germany and the UK. Sylvain Valensi will head up France, Gerd Grünenwald takes control in Germany and Marco Molinari returns to the UK for his second stint as MD. Goodyear GB’s current MD – Steve MacDonald – will retire after 27 years with the company.
Danish group Dek Ringen, with 31 members and 35 outlets, has joined the European point S network. The cooperation already had 700 outlets in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands. The European Tyre Coordination Committee (ETC) coordinates all activities of point S members across Europe.
With the arrival of the “Sportec M-1”, Metzeler has launched its latest motorcycle tyre which is planned to replace the “ME Z3”. The international press was invited to Biarritz, France, to take a close look at the new tyre designed to meet the niche between the race oriented “Racing” tyre and the touring targeted “ME Z4”. The “M-1” is dedicated to the customer with a sportier riding style. The “Sportec M-1” will be available from the beginning of October in five front wheel dimensions and six real wheel sizes. With a 0° steel-belted carcass and the multi-curvature tyre contour allied to the so-called MAW system (Metzeler Advanced Winding), or with the new compound and tread design, Metzeler has done a great deal to guarantee more enjoyment and safety for motorcyclists using the new “Sportec M-1”. Metzeler say that prices for the new tyre will “match the market requirements”, we can only guess what distribution manager Holger Schwedt means by that. Obviously Metzeler want to offer the “Sportec M-1” below the price of its predecessor, the “ME Z3″, in order to minimise the advantage to its competitor, Bridgestone, who – if you look at market shares – came very close to the German market leader in recent years. ” We are no longer seeking to simply retain a stable market share, we wish to fight for more,” explained Schwedt.
Michelin and IBM have announced that the tyre manufacturer has installed for all Europe a new Web-based system – based on a Web-enabled IBM eServer zSeries mainframe – that improves service to its network of 50,000 European distributors by allowing them to place orders for Michelin products directly over the Web any time of the day or night. The system is initially being deployed for use by Michelin’s large European distributors in the United Kingdom, Germany and France and will be made available to the most of the company’s European network tyre distributors. Full deployment will be by 2004.
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