Uniwheels shares that it is supplying 20-inch alloy wheels to the latest BMW 6 Series M Sport Edition. The wheels are produced at the company’s Werdohl plant in Germany and are fitted to order on Coupé, Cabrio and Gran Coupé versions of the model.
Since the start of August Dr. Ralf Cramer has been headquartered in Shanghai as head of Continental China. Replacing him as chairman of the Management Board for the Chassis & Safety division is Frank Jourdan, who has also joined Continental’s Executive Board. Jourdan’s appointment to the board was confirmed at Continental’s Supervisory Board meeting on 25 September, together with the renewal of Dr. Elmar Degenhart’s tenure as Executive Board chairman for a further five years.
Germany’s Tyre24Group has opened a new B2B online platform in Italy. The new tyre24.it site went live on 16 September and brings the company one step closer to gaining a presence in the major European tyre markets. Tyre24 is already active in Germany, Poland, France and Austria.
The results of a fleet survey carried out for Goodyear in June and July show that 81 per cent of all fleet operators are aware of the EU tyre label. According to the MV2 Conseil survey of approximately 500 fleet managers in France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain, 55 per cent know the details of the tyre label legislation and a further 26 per cent are aware of it but recognise a need to learn more. Only 19 per cent of fleet managers responded that they’d never heard of the EU tyre label.
German-based Pirelli company Pneumobil GmbH has established its first flagship ‘Driver’ centre. The Driver store in Frankfurt opened its doors on Friday 13 September, and this will hopefully prove a lucky date for the new premium concept. Pirelli intends to expand the Driver network, however it has not outlined its future rollout plans or indicated whether the Driver centre concept will be extended to other markets.
A new feature coming to Tyrepress in the relaunched version of the site is a database of European tyre test results. The feature has been a part of German sister site Reifenpresse.de’s service for some time, and as a result the database offers more than 3,500 tyre test results. Tyrepress editor Chris Anthony says that the feature forms “a key part of our newly updated website.”
Nokian winter tyres performed well in the winter tyre tests of key German car magazines like "Auto Bild", "auto motor sport" and "AUTOStraßenverkehr" and were declared the best winter tyre. The test winners from Nokian Tyres received top ratings of "exemplary", "highly recommended" and "very good", thus proving their excellent driving safety and their low fuel consumption.
Brazilian retreading products manufacturer Vipal has launched its VT160 tyre tread, designed specially to improve the traction of heavy vehicles in snow. The tread was first presented at Autopromotec in Bologna, when Vipal said the tread was suited best to heavy vehicles travelling on a variety of surfaces.
Michelin’s tyre supply and co-development relationship with Porsche dates back to 1961, and this long joint history continues with the French manufacturer’s selection as sole tyre supplier to Porsche’s new hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder. The 918-specific Sport Cup 2 will be fitted in size 265/35-ZR20 at the front and size 325/30-ZR21 on the rear.
Pneumobil, the retail operation run by Pirelli in Germany, has acquired Bavarian tyre retailer Reifen-Wagner I.S. Auto-Service GmbH & Co. KG. The purchase of this chain adds 15 new outlets to the 70-strong Pneumobil network; the deal will take affect on 1 October.
In just a few days’ time, a completely upgraded tyrepress.com will be unveiled. We’ve listened to feedback from within the industry and taken stock of the increasing demand for our online services, and the result is a totally redesigned site with improved mobile and tablet functionality along with more user friendly search and navigation.
Dunlop has developed tyres for the new Opel Monza Concept car, revealed at the 65th International Motor Show in Frankfurt this week. Dunlop says that work on the concept tyre, in size 245/35R21, began in early 2013 and underwent a number of stages in collaboration with Opel to meet the car manufacturer’s expectations. The design features the same sleek lines found on the Monza Concept, enhancing the car’s overall look through the tyres and onto the ground.
“Dunlop and Opel design teams worked on the design and development of the tyre to ensure the tread matched the sleek shape of the car perfectly”, explains Helmut Fehl from Dunlop’s advanced design and development centre in Hanau, Germany. “Every detail of the tyre was discussed, evaluated and designed to meet the highest standards and expectations of the Opel team.”
Sailun says the last three years have seen it establish a stronger truck tyre presence in Europe, from what it describes as “a relatively very low” base. The company states that its approach has been through research and development, epitomised by the creation and growth of a 400-strong Technical Quality and Research Centre at its company-owned manufacturing plant in Qingdao.
The Al Dobowi Group has initiated an annual Infinity German Partner Conference, having presented the Infinity Tyres programme and discussed new distribution strategies with a select group of German tyre retailers, distributors and journalists at Aschaffenburg’s Schloss Hotel in Bavaria. Infinity Tyres were introduced to the European market nine years ago, and the brand’s owner and global distributor expects a complete new passenger range for 2014 to bring faster year on year sales growth, especially in technically demanding markets such as Germany.
The 1,000 or so employees at Lanxess’ global headquarters have completed the shift from the German town of Leverkusen to Cologne. The headquarters team now resides at the ‘Lanxess Tower’ at Kennedyplatz number 1 in the city’s Deutz district. For the first time, all of the company’s central management functions are united under the one roof.
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.
