Founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Akron, Ohio. It is one of the oldest, biggest and best-known tyremakers in the world. Goodyear makes tyres for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, SUVs, racing cars, aeroplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery. Find all the news and analysis you need relating to Goodyear here.
It’s solar superlative time. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company reports having completed its largest solar panel installation to date. More than 29,700 solar panels now sit upon the rooftop of the tyre maker’s Pulandian factory site in Dalian, China, as well as on adjoining warehouse and office buildings – equipment that Goodyear says will reduce carbon emissions from purchased electricity by 17,000 tonnes annually over 25 years.
A new collaboration between The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and California-based bioengineering firm Visolis will lead to the production of isoprene through the upcycling of biobased materials. This collaboration, which Goodyear announced yesterday, is supported by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awarded to Visolis earlier this year.
Several Masters Historic Racing series will compete on Goodyear and Dunlop tyres under a new long-term tyre supply agreement between the tyre maker and UK-based race organiser. Goodyear says this agreement builds on longstanding relationships between Masters and its Dunlop and Avon brands and marks the reintroduction of the Goodyear name into several championships, including events for Formula 1 and 24 Hours of Le Mans cars.
The Renault Clio is France’s best-selling car and a vehicle that has sold over 1.1 million units in the UK during the last 33 years. Renault has facelifted the fifth-generation Clio to give it a “bold, fresh style and added sportiness.” The UK-spec range includes three trim levels, Evolution, Techno and Esprit Alpine. These are distinguishable by their wheels, for which a total of three tyre brands and two dimensions are original equipment.
Production of the G60/G61/G68 BMW 5 Series has commenced, and the first deliveries will begin any time now. UK-spec M Sport models of this eighth-generation BMW executive saloon come with 19-inch light alloy wheels as standard equipment, while M Sport Pro models receive 20-inch light alloy wheels. BMW UK says the enlarged diameter over its predecessor’s rims gives the vehicle an “even more sporty presence.” Options available for all versions include 20-inch and 21-inch light alloy wheels, and the BMW list of approved rims and tyres for the G60 also includes an 18-inch fitment.
Following a launch in “many demanding global markets” such as Australia, the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac RT has arrived in the UK and European markets. Additional sizes of this evolution of the Wrangler DuraTrac 4×4 arrive in Q4 2023.
As promised earlier in the year, Goodyear has expanded its Vector 4Seasons Cargo line-up. It has added nine new sizes to this all-season range, increasing the number of SKUs to 28. With tyres available in 14- to 19-inch rim diameter dimensions, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo provides solutions for some of the most popular light commercial vehicles in the market, such as the Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, MAN TGE and Isuzu D-MAX.
Drawing upon responses from more than 1,600 fleets across Europe, Goodyear has provided a glimpse into industry perceptions towards sustainability and efforts amongst operators to improve their footprint. Now in its third year and available in both UK/Ireland and European editions, the Goodyear Sustainable Reality Survey report sets out to examine sustainability trends in the commercial vehicle and haulage industry, looking at what fleets are currently doing as well as discussing barriers to progress.
Winter tyres are niche products in the UK but make a lot of sense in particular situations. High-powered performance cars, for example, may benefit from the added grip that season-specific rubber provides. Auto Bild Sportscars has evaluated 11 brands of tyre in size 225/40 R18 to gauge performance in snowy, wet and dry conditions. Four tyres gain the motoring publication’s highest recommendation, but Auto Bild Sportscars also warns against bad eggs in the basket.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated Goodyear’s near-term and net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. SBTi evaluated the tyre maker’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 near-term target ambition and determined this to be “in line with a trajectory of limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” The SBTi team also evaluated the Scope 1, 2 and 3 long-term target ambition and considers this aligned with its 1.5°C mitigation pathways for reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company estimates that fire damage to its manufacturing facility in Dębica, Poland will reduce sales by up to US$40 million and lower operating income by as much as $30 million. After resuming production two days after the blaze of 20 August 2023, production has slowly risen from around 55% of capacity to approximately 70% by the end of September. Goodyear does not expect a full ramp-up of production until Q4 2024 due to the lead time to replace damaged equipment.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company approved “a rationalization plan in Asia Pacific to improve profitability in its Australia and New Zealand operations” on 19 September 2023. The plan exits 100 retail and fleet locations and nine warehouses at the cost of 700 jobs. In other words, it changes the company’s operating model to a third-party distribution and retail sales model instead of a company-owned approach. That specifically means moves such as the recent appointment of National Tyre & Wheel Limited (National) as the exclusive distributor of the Dunlop tyre brand in Australia and New Zealand.
Goodyear UK is investing in a television advertising campaign for its Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3.
The advert marks a step up in the ongoing TV advertising investment for Goodyear in the UK, with a campaign set to reach 50 million impressions across UK drivers, including viewers on Quest, DMAX, Discovery Turbo, Eurosport and Food Network.
3-and-a-half years after joining Goodyear EMEA, the company’s President Consumer Europe, Hakan Bayman, has left the company.
Three months ago, Goodyear announced it would cut up to half the jobs at the tyre factory in Fulda, Germany. Consultation with the trade union IGBCE and the plant’s works council commenced in June. These discussions came to nothing – last Friday, union and works council representatives announced that the Goodyear negotiator had unilaterally declared the talks a failure and ended them.
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