Diagnostics firm Texa is to show its news AXONE 4 technology at this year’s CV Show. According to the company, the AXONE 4 presents a series of unique characteristics, many of which are linked to the functionality provided by an internet connection.
The Viking tyre brand has launched a new website at www.viking-tyres.com. It is meant to be a dealer-oriented portal that offers continuous information – as a link between the tyre dealers and the company.
Michelin has launched an iPhone version of its Great Britain & Ireland 2012 guide. This app, released along with Apple-friendly guides for Italy, Spain, Portugal and Europe, is downloadable from the App Store and contains information for all the restaurants and hotels featured in the 2012 guide.
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The Netherlands’ new internet-based tyre wholesaler, Rogo Tyre has launched its website, promising to deliver luxury, 4×4, van and motorcycle tyres “to garages, car dealers, tyre- fitters and wholesalers in the Netherlands and beyond”. The company will offer a stockholding of “more than 1.2 million tyres” from its webshop, including many world-leading brands and offering 24 or 48 hour delivery times.
Although highly regarded, the Michelin Guides have sunk in circulation over the past decade. Media reports peg the decline from 2000 to 2010 as being from more than 400,000 copies to just 107,000. To counter this bleak trend, it seems the Guide concept will shortly undergo a transformation.
The latest figures for sales of new motorcycle and scooter show an overall drop of 2.2% in 2011 compared to 2010. Overall the market has moved away from large motorcycles towards smaller motorcycles and scooters, often used for commuting. This trend is reflected with the biggest sales growth of the year coming from the 51-125cc sector.
Worldwide, more than 30,000 service partner workshops now co-operate with online tyre retailer Delticom AG. Reaching this milestone figure is, comments the German-based company, evidence that “the European internet tyre trading market leader remains at the top.” In addition to the aforementioned 30,000 service partners, Delticom now operates 125 online shops in 41 countries, including the British portal mytyres.co.uk, and offers more than 100 tyre brands and at least 25,000 individual types of tyre.
After more than 26 years serving the tyre breakdown business, ITDN staff continue to take pride in their reputation for reliability and service given to members and has announced the imminent launch of its “all new, completely revised live on-line system ‘ITDN Interactive’.”
ITDN operates a complete tyre breakdown network for the independent tyre dealer. Network representatives report that the network’s continuing goal is to ensure that members keep control of their own business, whilst benefiting from the back-up of a 600 plus strong team of independent dealers behind them.
If you’re planning a late summer driving trip to France, and your driving companion’s name starts with the ninth letter of the alphabet, then Michelin has perhaps just what you need. Following the success of the ViaMichelin Traffic application for iPad, the company has launched the first iPad map of France. The 2011 Michelin France map is available for download from the iTunes App Store.
In Japan, as elsewhere, the internet is growing in influence as a source of information for tyre purchasers. According to the according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2011 Japan Winter Tire Retailer Satisfaction Index Study, the percentage of Japanese consumers who say they rely on information from the internet while shopping for winter tyres has increased to 29 per cent in 2011, up seven percentage points from 2010, while the percentage of customers who say they purchased their winter tyres through the internet or mail order has increased to from nine per cent in 2010 to 13 per cent this year.
Senior figures from across the automotive industry are meeting for the annual SMMT International Automotive Summit in Westminster today, which is being broadcast live across the Internet. The industry has had a major boost in recent weeks with huge investments announced by BMW and Nissan, but is the wider industry able to secure similar funding? For our part, Tyres & Accessories has lodged a question about the effect of the Longbridge revival and the UK’s relationship with China on the tyre trade, which we will report on as and when this is answered.
Kumho Tyres recently acquired a front-row seat – for its advertising hoardings – at a high profile football match between Serie A teams Parma and Inter. The 220-metre electronic boards circumnavigated the pitch periodically displaying panels showing images advertising Kumho Tyres.
The success of Vauxhall MasterFit's online service booking pilot programme in 2010 has led to its introduction across the national network, according to an article on the headline.auto website. Of those retailers involved in the pilot, many reported 70 per cent of those using the online booking system were new customers whose vehicles they were servicing for the first time.
Commenting on the results of a recent Vehicle and Operator Service Agency’s (VOSA) Effectiveness Report, mytyres.co.uk says Britain’s van drivers have an “unenviable record” when it comes to overloading. The online retailer, part of the Delticom family of internet portals, adds that the impact of such behaviour upon tyres – which it adds are also often under-inflated – can be reduced operating life and a possible blow out.
Whether 1966-born Jean-Philippe Rouchon really is the illegitimate son of Patrice Michelin, who died in 2006, is a case for the court to officially decide. On October 12, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris set a November 9 hearing date for the issue. Lately, French newspapers have been filled with reports and the internet is abuzz with alleged or actual titbits of information on the matter, and Rouchon himself is clearly aware of how to use the media to his own advantage. In videos it can be seen and heard that it is not really all about the money (although it does play a role, for example with inheritance, as today the Michelin family belongs to the five or six richest families in France with wealth that goes far beyond the Michelin Group’s assets) but rather ensuring justice and making amends. He has surely suffered, having to lead a hidden life somewhere while the esteemed members of the large Michelin family lived happily like children sitting under the Christmas tree.
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