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China Market Growth Three Times Global Average

An estimate given by Sumitomo Rubber Industries suggests that sales of tyres in China will increase at three times the global rate. Bloomberg reports company president Tetsuji Mino as saying sales will increase about ten per cent per annum from just under 150 million tyres in 2009, compared with a global growth of three per cent. “We are sure that China is the most promising market,” Mino said. “Car ownership is spreading from wealthy people to ordinary consumers.”

15th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Are Automotive Battery Manufacturers Facing Overcapacity?

The share of electrified powertrains is expected to increase significantly in all major automotive markets as a result of marked decreases in the cost of batteries over the next decade. Yet the desire to capitalise on this growing market may lead to problems in the years ahead: According to Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, planned investments in battery production will result in significant overcapacity occurring between 2014 and 2017, especially in the US and in Japan. As a consequence, experts at the strategy consultancy believe only six to eight global battery manufacturers will survive the next five to seven years. This is the conclusion the company drew from its “Powertrain 2020 – Li-ion batteries – The next bubble ahead?" market survey.

10th March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bickers Expands Vesrah Motorcycle Brake Pad Offering

Maxxis International (UK)’’s motorcycle distribution arm, Bickers has expanded its range of brake pads from Vesrah. Made in Japan to OE specifications, Vesrah pads give powerful, responsive braking dependable wet or dry, fast or slow, road or track according to the manufacturer. The three ranges available comprise the RJL pad for road and race; the JL road and off-road pad; and the standard semi-metallic/organic carbon pad.

1st March 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Geneva Debut for Yokohama’s C.drive2

“We respect the Environment…” is a new slogan in use at Yokohama Rubber, and the Japanese manufacturer will be showing this respect in tyre form at the Geneva International Motor Show with the European premiere of its “C.drive2” high performance eco tyre. This new product will be presented alongside the company’s flagship eco tyre, the “dB super E-spec”, which was released in Europe during summer 2009.

25th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

MHI Gearing Up to Produce Tyre Manufacturing Machinery in China

Vehicle production in China is said to have exceeded an estimated 13.5 million units last year, with 2010 production expected to grow to around 14 million units. Alongside this growth, demand for tyres in this market has also risen sharply, and during the course of the coming year China is anticipated to surpass the US as the world’s largest tyre market. In a “strategic response” to moves by global tyre makers to enter the Chinese market, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has taken the decision to manufacture tyre production machinery there through its wholly owned Changshu Ryoju Machinery Co., Ltd subsidiary. The Jiangsu Province based operation is now in the final stages of readying its plant, and this preparation should be complete by the end of February in time for a March commencement of production.

18th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Net Income Rises Markedly

Yokohama Rubber has reported earning a net income of 9.0 billion yen (₤62.1 million) in the first three quarters of the present fiscal year, the nine months to December 31, 2009. That compares with net income of just 222 million yen in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Underlying the rebound in net income, the company explains, was a 0.1 per cent increase in operating income, to 17.3 billion yen (₤119.5 million). The improvement in profitability occurred despite a 16.2 per cent decline in net sales, to 344.0 billion yen (₤2.4 billion), and reflected a downward trend in raw material prices, reductions in selling and other expenses, and smaller losses on currency translation.

4th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal ‘Corners’ the Market

Following the success of the programme it introduced early in 2008, Federal Tire has further developed its marketing plan for tyre dealers. In order to strengthen its market position, the company has released an “image corner” – a move it hopes will help consumers gain a better understanding of Federal. The company says it aims, through the introduction of these displays in its export markets, to create a presence that “established the essence of the Federal brand” and helps the company sustain a competitive edge while improving business.

4th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Holding Onto All Long-Term Goals

In 2009 Japan’s Bridgestone Corporation posted its first loss since 1931. The financial crisis and recession had strongly impacted upon the previously profitable Japanese home market and triggered the company’s implementation of a number of restructuring measures, notably in Oceania, where the closing of its plants in New Zealand and Australia closed the book on new tyre production in both countries. Furthermore, at the end of the current season the tyre major’s 14-year association with Formula One will come to an end. The decisive factor behind this decision was the cost and the exit of Toyota and Honda from the series, yet it can also be said that the company’s goal – increasing the Bridgestone brand’s recognition and profile – has already been reached. In this respect, remaining with Formula One would not deliver very much more and thus cannot be justified in terms of the enormous costs involved. Ecclestone & Co. also may have done nobody a favour when they decided to go with a sole tyre supplier, thereby eliminating any competitiveness from the equation.

2nd February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Tripling Without the Muscle

Tyre tripling, inserting two used tyres inside another one, has been increasingly adopted as a method of saving space and achieving transportation cost savings. To give a real life example, up to around 1,600 tyres can normally be fitted into a standard container. Up to 3,500 “tripled” tyres can be fit in the same space. According to Arne Blaes, the proprietor of a company which manufactures tripling machinery, the process was invented by Africans who in most cases carried out the strenuous tripling process by hand.

1st February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama HPT Starts 2010 with Environmental Theme at Autosport Show

The UK distributor for Yokohama tyres and replacement alloy wheels from TSW, MAK and Advanti, Yokohama HPT Ltd, kicked off its new year this week at the annual Autosport International show at the NEC. The company is exhibiting its full range of Yokohama high performance road and motorsport tyres, its key ranges of alloy wheels while the centrepiece of its stand is the innovative Tesla Roadster Sport, the world’s first all-electric track day car.

15th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Completes Bookbuilding of New Shares

Continental reports that the following news is not intended for direct or indirect release, publication or distribution into the USA, Canada, Australia or Japan, so T&A invites subscribers outside of these regions to read further.

12th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama Lifts Export Market Prices

In January Yokohama Rubber intends to increase the export price of its tyres by as up to – and potentially even more than – 15 per cent. Yokohama states these increases apply to all passenger car, light truck, truck and bus, construction and industry tyre products in markets outside of Japan. In terms of specific increases, the company reports in an official statement that “the maximum mark-up is around 15 per cent. But even larger mark-up may be applied to specific regions and products.”

4th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Japanese Firms to Establish Singapore Synthetic Rubber Operations

According to a November 28 article in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, two Japanese chemical companies, Asahi Kasei Corporation and Zeon Corporation, intend to establish synthetic rubber plants in Singapore to cater for growing demand for low rolling resistance tyres.

8th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Momentive Launches Silplus High Consistency Elastomer Platform

Automotive industry application is one of a number of uses Momentive Performance Materials states its new Silplus silicone elastomer is suited to. This global heat cured rubber (high consistency elastomer) platform is based on a uniform production process and raw material inputs, and will be produced primarily in Leverkusen, Germany, Shanghai, China and Ohta, Japan. The manufacturer states that all production sites will use a mix process, resulting in higher quality elastomers with good physical properties and a lower level of volatility.

3rd December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

40 Today – Yokohama Tire in the US

It is forty years since Yokohama Tire Corporation commenced business in the US. The company’s first headquarters – the first sales operation to be set up outside of Japan – was located in Los Angeles and opened its doors for the first time on November 24, 1969. Four decades later, YTC services a nationwide network of more than 4,500 points of sale through its four distribution centres.

24th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors