market share Archives - Page 14 of 23 - Tyrepress

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Metro Tyres to Offer Share to Conti

India’s Metro Tyres is reportedly willing to offer technical collaboration partner Continental a minority stake in its business. According to an article published in the Indian financial daily Hindu Business Line, Metro Tyres group managing director Rummy Chhabra said that a share of the company could be offered to Continental when Metro’s planned IPO – from which the company hopes to raise about Rs 1 billion (£12 million) – takes place in 18 months’ time, or possibly even beforehand.

Metro plans to increase their presence in Europe and Continental’s assistance has been invaluable to this end. Mr Chhabra said Continental was willing to help Metro enter its home European market as both companies’ products complement each other. “While we address the budget segment, Continental plays in the premium end of the market. Hence our products do not overlap each other.” The Indian tyremaker has already opened an office and warehouse in Barcelona, from where it will market its Ortem brand tyres and tubes to European markets. Mr. Chhabra said the company expects European sales to contribute up to £10 million to its total revenue during the first year.

13th July 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Malaysia Anticipating Huge Growth in SUV Tyre Sales

Michelin Malaysia Sdn Bhd has its eyes on a 500 per cent growth in SUV tyre sales following the introduction of the Latitude range into the country. According to a company statement Michelin is confident of increasing its SUV market share to five per cent by the end of the year, and its aims to completely revamp its SUV tyre portfolio with the Latitude Tour HP and Latitude Sports range.

“We expect Latitude to take the tyre market by storm and have targeted to sell more than 10,000 units in the coming months as our tyres are very competitively priced and offer unrivalled performance,” said general manager Ronald Sutardja. The Latitude tyres are also available in sizes for light commercials. The Latitude Tour HP, meanwhile, is available in 34 sizes between 15 and 21 inches.

29th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook’s New European Plant Up and Running

June 26 is to be a red-letter day in the history of Hankook in Europe, as this is the day the company has chosen to officially commence production at its new £340 million facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary. The 54-hectare site south of the capital Budapest has been set up to manufacture UHP tyres for the European market, and when full production is reached in 2010 a total of 10 million tyres will be produced each year.

The new facility in Hungary will be instrumental in Hankook’s plans to increase its European market share to 8 per cent by 2010. At present 35 per cent of the company’s global export revenues are generated in Europe, Hankook’s largest export market.

25th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

JK Tyres Considering Return to 2 & 3 Wheeler Market

According to news published in an Indian business daily, JK Tyre & Industries is considering a return to producing tyres for the two and three wheel vehicle market after a long absence. Company president Arun K Bajora told the Financial Express “We are examining the possibility of entering into the two-wheeler and the three-wheeler space. We want to offer a complete package to the dealers and customers.”

At present JK Tyre specialises in supplying both radials and bias tyres for passenger car, truck and agricultural vehicles in its homeland and holds a 25 per cent market share in the almost £2 billion per annum domestic market. Of this motorcycle and three-wheeler production in the 2006-07 year stood at around 26 million units, an increase of 24 per cent over the previous year. This is higher than any market segment apart from tractor trailer tyres, and perhaps too tempting a growth not to capitalise on. In contrast, the overall Indian tyre market only grew by 11 per cent during the same period.

8th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Russian Tyre Giant to Increase Output

The Russian Tatneft consortium, whose petrochemical division includes the companies Nizhnekamskshina, Tatneft Neftekhimsnab and Kama Trading House (formerly known as Kamskhina) has told the regional government in Tatarstan that it anticipates the three tyremakers’ combined output will increase to 21 million tyres. This increased production will bring about a small rise in Tatneft’s Russian market share, from 22 to 23 per cent.

Nizhnekamskshina will reportedly also invest 3 billion roubles (£58 million) in the modernisation of its manufacturing facilities by 2009. This upgrade will see total tyre production at the facility in question rise from its current 5 million units per annum to 8 or 9 million, with radial production increasing to 3 million units. In 2006 the company produced 12.206 million tyres, with this figure expected to slightly rise to 12.235 million in 2007.

7th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Aiming for Doubled Euro Sales by 2010

With the opening of Hankook Tire’s £340 million facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary scheduled for June, the South Korean manufacturer’s goal of doubling its European market share to 8 per cent by 2010 looks on track. By the end of this three-year timeframe the new factory will have an expected capacity of 10 million units. During this same period Hankook plans to increase global output from 69 million to 80 million units, and the company has previously stated that its longer-term goal is 100 million units a year.

Hankook is the fastest growing of the world’s top 11 tyremakers, with sales increasing by 20 per cent annually. Furthermore, it reportedly enjoys the industry’s highest profitability, with average operating profit margins exceeding 10 per cent. And as Hankook’s largest export market, Europe is naturally very important to the tyremaker – a fact confirmed when the company referred to Europe as their “second domestic market” earlier in the year. A total of 35 per cent of the company’s export revenue (which in turn is 70 per cent of total revenue) comes from European sales.

29th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone UK Names New Motorcycle Division Manager

Bridgestone UK has strengthened its sales team with the appointment of Andrew Whitehead as manager for its motorcycle division. According to an official company statement, Whitehead’s primary role will be to “secure Bridgestone’s market share of quality motorbike tyres.” This portfolio includes the new Battlax BT-021, a long-term replacement for the successful BT-020, the market-leading sport touring tyre.

“It’s an exciting time to join the motorcycle division following the official launch of the BT-021,” said Whitehead. “It’s a fantastic product, and the positive feedback we’ve received about the handling and performance capabilities of the tyre leads us to believe it will make a real impact in the market. The BT-020 is an incredibly tough act to follow, but my focus is to ensure the BT-021, and the rest of the Bridgestone motorbike range, can generate equally impressive unit sales.

Andrew Whitehead, 44, formerly worked in a sales capacity for Bridgestone’s truck division following a six year stint at Dunlop, where he was also responsible for truck and motorcycle tyre sales.

25th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Marketing Campaign for Goodyear India

Goodyear India has launched a new marketing campaign centred upon the theme “Take the winning turn” as part of an overall marketing strategy aimed at strengthening its position within India’s consumer replacement market. This campaign kicks off with a new television commercial focusing upon Goodyear’s association with a new movie, Ta Ra Rum Pum, the story of a Nascar driver who fights the odds to become a champion. Goodyear was an obvious choice as a partner in the making of this movie, having been the sole provider of tyre equipment to Nascar since 1997. The company recently signed a deal with Nascar to extend its exclusive association until 2012.

The television commercial, which also emphasises the tyremaker’s 50-year association with Nascar championships, began to be screened in India during the last week of April. The advertisement showcases the “Eagle” range of tyres, which are fitted to Nascar vehicles and in the movie help the star, Saif Ali Khan, to become a champion driver. Products from the Eagle range are available in India both as replacement market tyres and as OE for some premium models, such as all Mercedes Benz cars sold in India.

8th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Q1 Sales Praised

Analysts have praised Michelin’s strong first quarter sales which saw sales increase 9.5 per cent when restated from foreign exchange impact. The company also reported market share gains of 4.9 and 4.4 per cent in Europe and the US respectively. “…this gives us comfort in our first half EBIT of 900 million euros, 40 per cent (250 million euros), significantly above consensus,” Deutsche Bank analysts commented, reporting the consensus as 765 million or 120 million euros. Meanwhile Thomas Aney of Dresdner Kleinwort maintained his “hold” rating on Michelin, while raising his estimates for the company.

27th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Prema to Expand into Ireland

Describing 2006 as a “another tough yet successful year for Harvie,” managing director, Terry Brooks has explained that pressures from Chinese balance weight imports and more aggressive competition have not stopped the company from growing and investing in two new salesmen.

In the last year Harvie has grown its fleet of vans to 12 and boasts full UK coverage. Plans to enter the Irish market are underway and a new salesman for the north based in Belfast will start later this year. Negotiations with 2 possible agents based in Dublin in the south are said to be “advancing.”

29th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Passenger Car Registrations Show Mixed Results

Passenger car registrations across the 15 established European Union states are showing signs of a slight decrease compared with 12 months ago, according to figures released by the ACEA on March 15. Throughout this entire region a total of 975,666 new passenger cars were registered in February 2007, a 3.5 per cent dip compared with February 2006 registrations. The scenario in the UK market was in line with this trend, with February 2007’s new car registrations – 73,586 new passenger cars – 3.2 per cent lower than the number recorded a year before. However new car registrations are traditionally low in the UK during February due to the March number plate changeover, and it must be pointed out that combined January/February 2007 new car registrations totalled 239,189, a 2.5 per cent increase on 2006 and bucking EU15 trends, where a 1.5 per cent decrease was recorded.

16th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Appointments at Amtel-Vredestein

Amtel-Vredestein has announced the appointment of new directors in the company’s Russian division. J. Anisimova has taken on the role of personnel department director and V. Ignatyev has been selected as the company’s new director for sales and marketing in Russia.

28th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental’s Earnings Growth Slows

For the second quarter in a row Continental AG, has not shown any earnings growth. Deutsche Bank analysts have observed that even if EBIT was 5 per cent above consensus in the fourth quarter, pre-tax earnings were down 1 per cent year on year. According to the market analysts this is because the group lost market share in winter tyres, and margin recovery at Motorola is slower than expected.

23rd February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Appointments at Blackcircles.com Support Rapid Expansion

Career Tracks, UK News

Innovative tyre retailer Blackcircles.com has announced two new additions to its executive team as it prepares for another year of exciting growth. Launched in 2001 by managing director Mike Welch (28), the online tyre retailer has set a new quality standard for the tyre industry and strong sales in 2006 has seen it create the two new posts of commercial director and head of finance.

21st February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Sues GPX International Over ‘Knock-Offs’

At the beginning of February, GPX International was sued by Bridgestone over a range of tyres for forestry vehicles that the Japanese manufacturer said infringed its rights. Bridgestone accused GPX of unfairly competing by its Firestone Rock Master brand name and advertising slogans.

Following the accusations GPX published an official statement “strongly denying” the accusations, which it said were an attempt to “besmirch its reputation.” The manufacturer said it was not aware that the Rock Master name was trade marked and has voluntarily “removed all reference to Rock Master from its website and will change the name of the tyres currently produced under the Rock Master name.”

15th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors