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.
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.
Yesterday Goodyear shared initial details of how the firm plans to restructure its Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) business. Consultation is ongoing, but “around 1,200” jobs will be cut in the region.
The car tyre production hall at Goodyear’s Debica factory in Poland caught fire late on 20 August. According to multiple local news sources, more than 20 fire engines attended the scene before midnight and no injuries were reported. Official statements issued by the tyremaker suggest the company’s truck tyre production area remained unaffected and that some passenger car tyre production resumed on 22 August.
Goodyear is significantly restructuring its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations in measures that will result in 1200 job cuts across the salaried workforce, the creation of 500 new positions and therefore a net job reduction of 15%. Tyres & Accessories understands that the “business transformation programme” centres on Goodyear EMEA’s salaried workforce. Furthermore, it does not impact the company’s manufacturing workforce, which has been addressed separately.
Goodyear has debuted an evolution of the Wrangler DuraTrac 4×4 tyre that it sells in many markets around the world, including the UK. The improved Wrangler DuraTrac RT is now available in Australia; Goodyear hasn’t yet given word about the tyre’s rollout in other regions.
With DP World handling more than 1.8 million containers each year from its deep-water Southampton port facility, maximising efficiency and minimising downtime is key. That’s why DP World Southampton recently extended its partnership with Goodyear to retrofit TPMS across its port operations, including over 80 straddle carriers. DP World has worked with Goodyear for 20 years and the partnership has extended from using Goodyear’s bespoke port tyres to a full-service partnership that involves its latest technology.
Yet another crossover is entering the vehicle parc in the shape of the Alfa Romeo Tonale, which in UK spec is exclusively available as a mild hybrid or plug-in hybrid model. Continental has announced being one of the tyre suppliers for versions equipped with 17- and 18-inch rims. It will ship Continental EcoContact 6 tyres to Alfa Romeo’s Pomigliano d’Arco plant in Naples, Italy, where they will be fitted to the Tonale in sizes 215/60 R 17 96V and 235/50 R 18 97V.
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.
Arno Borchers/Profil-Verlag
Goodyear