India
Pirelli will test tyres during the practice session at the Canadian grand prix, the Formula One tyre supplier has announced. While the manufacturer had previously announced its intention to supply a new tyre range in Montreal, several teams, headed by Force India, held up the switch. Pirelli is now hoping to introduce the new P Zero F1 rubber at Silverstone for the British grand prix.
Leading European aftermarket trade associations Aica, Anfia, Airp, Clepa, Egea, Feda, Federpneus, Figiefa met at the IAAM13 conference that ran as part of the AutopromotecEdu section of the recent Autopromotec exhibition. IAMM13 focused on providing companies and professionals operating in the aftersales business some foresight of trends and developments of the aftermarket sector in Europe and a number of strategic countries, such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), threreby offering them the opportunity to find new international channels for their sales and marketing activities.
The continuing tyre debate in Formula One acquired a new facet over the long weekend, as details emerged of a 1,000km test Pirelli conducted in Barcelona after the Spanish grand prix. Red Bull and Ferrari have led official protests against the test, which is thought to have been conducted using the 2013 Mercedes car. This adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing debate over whether Pirelli will be allowed to change its 2013 specification rubber mid-season. Pirelli announced that it would make the changes to the rear tyres before the Canadian grand prix, but this intention is being held up by three teams – chiefly Force India, with Ferrari and Lotus joining the current impasse – who have refused to sign off on the replacement range. (You can follow the ongoing saga of Pirelli's 2013 F1 tyres in the links below this story.)
Nico Rosberg won his first race for Mercedes this year, ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who extended his championship lead. The German was in front from start to finish, starting on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre and then switching to the P Zero Yellow soft during a safety car period. An accident on lap 45 brought out the red flag and under the current rules the drivers were allowed to change tyres during the stoppage. Rosberg completed the race on the supersoft tyre, following yet another safety car period with 15 laps to go. Pirelli had predicted a one-stop strategy, and this proved to be the case for most of the field, excluding the re-start. Monaco is generally one of the easiest races on the tyres, partially as a result of well rubberised roads and lower speeds than specialist track races.
Pirelli’s decision to make wholesale changes to its range of P Zero Formula One tyres, as well as the sole tyre supplier’s future in the series, are hanging in the balance going into this weekend’s Monaco grand prix. The tyre maker appeared ready to go ahead with a plan to supply altered tyres from June – thought to be a mix between the features of the current rubber and last year’s model – but behind-the-scenes negotiations have followed that announcement.
Apollo Tyres’ Chennai facility in southern India has won the Platinum prize in the large size category of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Quality Systems Awards for Manufacturing 2012. This highest-level award was presented to Apollo Tyres by Saurabh Chandra, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India.
For Apollo Tyres, the 2013 financial year ended on 31 March, and the tyre maker reports that its profit was up almost 50 per cent for the full year. Apollo’s net profit between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013 amounted to Rs 6.1 billion (£73.0 million), a 48.8 per cent year-on-year increase on the Rs 4.1 billion earned in the previous financial year. Net sales rose 5.3 per cent to Rs 127.9 billion (£1.5 billion) and operating profit increased 29.2 per cent to Rs 15.5 billion (£185.6 million).
Leading brake manufacturer Brembo has posted first quarter 2013 net consolidated revenues of 371.9 million euros, up 6.3 per cent compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Pre-tax profits grew even faster. EBITDA amounted to 47.3 million euros (12.7 per cent of revenues), up 10.2 per cent compared to first quarter of previous year. Meanwhile EBIT amounted to 26.1 million euros (7 per cent of revenues), up 9.3 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2012.
The earnings posted by chemical company Lanxess in the first quarter of 2013 were lower than the company expected, and it says the weak market environment in the tyre and automotive industries is particularly responsible for this.
In a quarter punctuated by recovering domestic and US markets, a stagnant and unstable European economy, and slowing economic expansion in Asia, Bridgestone Corporation posted net sales of ¥794.5 billion (£5.2 billion) in the three months from 1 January to 31 March, a year-on-year increase of nine per cent. Operating income amounted to ¥74.4 billion (£483.6 million), 18 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2012, while operating margin rose 0.7 per cent year-on-year to 9.4 per cent. Ordinary income was up 14 per cent to ¥70.1 billion (£455.6 million), and net income rose two per cent to ¥43.1 billion (£280.1 million).
Apollo Tyres has confirmed news of its approval as an original equipment supplier to the Volkswagen Passat. An Apollo spokesman told Tyres & Accessories that “this approval is for Passats manufactured anywhere in the world with same specs as in India.”
Apollo Tyres has opened its sales hub to the ASEAN region in Bangkok. The region has become one of Apollo’s strongest export markets for its India produced tyres, the company said. Over the last three years, Apollo said the region has doubled in sales.
The 29-person international jury presiding over this year’s Vehicle Dynamics Innovation Awards have named Continental’s new weather-independent AIBA tyre testing facility winner of the awards’ “Development Tool of the Year” category.
Apollo Tyres unveiled the first of its fourth generation, or 4G tyres at the Geneva motor show in March 2012, and since the release of the Aspire 4G it has introduced further products into this latest generation line-up in Europe. Now the Indian tyre maker is releasing three 4G ranges in its domestic market, and it intends to use these to increase its share of India’s replacement passenger car tyre market.
Titan International has announced “another record quarter” during the first three months of 2012, however the figures behind this impressive-sounding statement make for rather modest reading. While sales are up 24.9 per cent over the first quarter of 2012, the tyre maker only managed a small increase in gross profit, while adjusted net income declined significantly. Earnings per share were less than half what they were a year ago, although admittedly they show an improvement on Q4 2012. Titan says it remains focused on its goals, however, and sees many opportunities in the agricultural and mining sectors where it is most active.
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