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.
Earlier this month, European broadcaster Arte screened a documentary about a series of accidents involving heavy trucks. Titled ‘Sophie Rollet Takes On Goodyear’, the French documentary looks at the possible connection between these accidents and tyre failure. It is available to watch with English subtitles in the Arte archive.
TÜV SÜD and Goodyear have integrated the Goodyear CheckPoint solution into the TÜV SÜD Digital Vehicle Scan (DVS) inspection system. The system uses advanced sensor technology to elevate vehicle safety and performance, making the vehicle acceptance and return process more efficient. The testing organisation says the DVS enables accurate diagnosis and timely maintenance recommendations, which can improve overall safety and efficiency. The Goodyear CheckPoint drive-over tyre inspection system reads tyre condition and vehicle parameters, sending actionable insights to fleet managers. It streamlines tyre pressure and tread depth inspection by providing automated inspections completed within seconds.
This year Goodyear will add a total of 24 new sizes to its various Cargo tyre lines for light commercial vehicles, strengthening its premium LCV offering in a market where it anticipates 4.2 per cent growth by 2028. Additions to the EfficientGrip Cargo 2, Vector 4Seasons Cargo and UltraGrip Cargo will boost market coverage across the Goodyear summer, all-season and winter LCV tyre portfolio to up to 89 per cent, making the range one of the most complete in the market.
Goodyear’s recent Sustainable Reality Survey has shown that UK fleets are more focused on sustainability than their European counterparts, with higher-than-average knowledge and application of sustainable solutions, including fuel-efficient tyres. Goodyear surveyed more than 1,400 fleets from 33 countries, asking about their current efforts and targets for the future. It found that 93 per cent of UK fleets are committed to sustainability goals, compared to the European average of 83 per cent. The UK industry is also in a position of strength when it comes to investing in sustainable solutions, including fuel-efficient tyres, telematics and driver training. The full report on Goodyear’s survey is available from the manufacturer’s website.
Goodyear aims for its integrated fleet solution to play an instrumental role in helping customers achieve their sustainability targets, and anyone wishing to learn more can do so next week: The Goodyear Drive Results showroom is set to showcase Goodyear Total Mobility to UK and Irish customers on 6 and 7 July.
Opposition is building against planned job cuts at the Goodyear plant in Fulda, Germany. The tyre maker announced at the start of June that it would cut about half of the current 1,150 jobs at the Fulda site, and the local Goodyear works council has now invited the workforce in Fulda and other Goodyear sites in Germany to demonstrate against the job cuts in front of the factory gate next Monday afternoon. A non-public works meeting is also scheduled to take place within the plant that day, as employee union IGBCE writes in a recent press release in which it threatens Goodyear with a “fight”.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has released its report on corporate responsibility performance for 2022, a document that details the company’s efforts to create value for its internal and external stakeholders by integrating sustainability throughout its business. The report also highlights the progress Goodyear is making toward achieving its short- and long-term sustainability goals.
Goodyear has developed a bespoke version of its ultra-ultra high performance Eagle F1 Supersport tyre for the different versions of the Maserati GranTurismo. The car will be available with a V6 twin-turbo configuration with two different levels of performance. The tyres have been tuned to suit the characteristics of the new Maserati models and carry MGT markings to show that they have been specifically developed for the Italian brand.
There are many changes in our latest leading tyre manufacturers ranking. The 2023 table, which lists the world’s leading tyre companies according to their full-year 2022 financial results, particularly highlights the shifts that have taken place this year in the second half of the top 20. Meanwhile, the top nine tyremakers appear to be an increasingly stable group. Between places nine and 10, there is still a gap of some 1 billion euros, something that is clearly hard to overcome for newcomers. However, as insurmountable as it appears, the gap is obviously narrowing.
It has not been the best 12 months for Goodyear or its employees. 2023 might mark the company’s 125th anniversary, but the combination of already-announced global job cuts, European manufacturing restructuring and ongoing cost-cutting operations mean that for many individual workers it may be their last (see page 14 of the June print edition onwards of complete coverage).
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Elliott Investment Management L.P.’s 11 May open letter to Goodyear’s board of directors sent shockwaves through the company and the markets. Essentially, Elliott’s expounded on its “deep conviction in the opportunity for Goodyear to improve after more than a decade of underperformance”, which was widely interpreted as laying down the gauntlet to Goodyear’s board and most senior executives. With Elliott calling pistols at dawn in the mid-west, the question is: is it time to buckle up and circle the wagons in Akron or are vultures circling over Goodyear? Here, Tyres & Accessories presents an in-depth analysis of Elliott’s arguments for enormous change, critically evaluating the problematic areas Elliott identifies along the way. In order to support our analysis, we spoke to senior executives close to Goodyear, those with first-hand management experience in Akron, financial analysts and third-party market researchers.
Airbus has approved Goodyear tyres for fitment on the new A321XLR. As a result of its system part certification, Goodyear’s Flight Radial will be among the tyres fitted when the aircraft enters service in 2024. Goodyear says the Flight Radial is one of its “most advanced” aviation products. It contains technologies that support the tyre’s dimensional stability for longer life and increased cut resistance. Its radial construction also offers more landings.
Goodyear is cutting up to 50 per cent of the jobs at its tyre factory in Fulda, Germany, which will result in “a similar sized” cut in tyre production, the tyre manufacturer announced today. Since around 1100 people are employed at the Fulda tyre factory, that means around 550 jobs will be cut. The news comes as a result of Goodyear’s review of its manufacturing footprint.
TireHub, the US national tyre distributor cofounded by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear) and Bridgestone Americas Inc. (Bridgestone), started selling Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels as an authorized national distributor on 1 May. The Mickey Thompson brand specialises in off-road orientated 4×4 products and came to Goodyear in the last couple of years as a result of the company’s acquisition of Cooper.
Goodyear has come on board as an original equipment tyre supplier to the Volkswagen ID. Buzz and transport version ID. Buzz Cargo. VW operations in regional and national markets have the option of offering customers tyres from the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, UltraGrip Performance+ or Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 ranges as standard.
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