Olaf Schick will part ways with Continental earlier than planned. A committee within the company’s Supervisory Board has agreed to the Chief Financial Officer’s request to step down on 30 September 2025. Schick will also relinquish the role of Executive Board member for Finance, Integrity and Law. He intends to return to Mercedes-Benz Group and will join its board of management on 1 October 2025.
Kwik Fit is extending its mobile network in response to “an increase in demand from both fleet and retail customers”. To that end, the tyre retailer has signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz Vans to add over 100 Sprinter vans to its mobile fitting fleet over the coming year.
Mercedes-Benz has approved the Nexen N’Fera Sport as an original equipment tyre for the latest E-Class. The 11th generation model will wear the Nexen tyre in size 225/55 R18 102Y XL.
Mercedes-Benz has a new E-Class, and Continental is supplying original equipment tyres. The tyre maker shared news of this OEM arrangement today, but the cat actually made its way out of the bag when Continental announced tyre supply to the new BMW 5 Series last December. Like its Munich-based rival’s car, the E-Class will wear Continental EcoContact 6 Q tyres, with seven dimensions approved for original equipment fitment. Mercedes-Benz has also homologated the WinterContact TS 860 S in five sizes.
Vehicle manufacturers typically demand customised tyres for their cars. To denote this exclusive tailoring, tyres that are approved or factory fitted as original equipment display a special marking on the sidewall. The best-known of these OE tyre designations include those for Porsche (N0, N1, …), BMW (*) and Mercedes (MO), although other brands, from Alfa Romeo to Volvo, also have their own individual sidewall marking. We recently became aware of something new that flies – at least in part – in the face of this concept of original equipment tyres specially tailored to a specific vehicle model.
Mercedes-Benz has awarded Continental preferred tyre partner status in China, Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This takes effect immediately and is valid until August 2025. Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz has extended its existing partnership with Continental in the Indian market until August 2024.
Mercedes-Benz will soon use waste tyres removed from its vehicles in the production of new cars. German pyrolysis recycling specialist Pyrum Innovations has taken the “next step” in its cooperation with the vehicle manufacturer and anticipates recycling several hundred tonnes of used tyres from the Mercedes-Benz Used Parts Centre every year. Pyrolysis oil made from these tyres will be used in the manufacture of vehicle components.
The new, full-electric Smart #1 is the first Smart model developed by the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Chinese carmaker Geely. Launch photos released by Smart Europe last year let the Continental cat out of the tyre supply bag, and Continental has now confirmed worldwide supply for the SUV in 18” & 19” tyre sizes.
The new Mercedes-Benz GLC is available with Continental tyres as standard. Depending on model, Mercedes-Benz will equip all available drive types – petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid – with EcoContact 6 Q in 18” to 20” sizes.
Mercedes-Benz has awarded Goodyear its ‘Preferred Partner of Tires’ status in Austria for a second consecutive time. The vehicle manufacturer performs a comprehensive evaluation of its partners every two years, and after granting Goodyear this distinction in 2021/22, it has confirmed its preferred status for 2023/24.
Hankook Tire Europe’s intensive expansion of its original equipment truck tyres business over the last half-decade hit significant headwinds at the end of 2021. As a result, the manufacturer made the decision to largely discontinue corresponding deliveries at the start of 2022. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories’ sister magazine in Germany, Neue Reifenzeitung (NRZ), representatives from Hankook’s European headquarters in Neu-Isenburg were clear that the company had not withdrawn from original equipment, but that there has been an interruption, which will be followed by a “restart” in the next two years. This raises the question of how this strategic decision will be received in a shrinking market, while many in the aftermarket are wondering why such a drastic move was necessary in the first place.
Mercedes-Benz is starting to equip its EQE and S-Class models with door handles containing materials gleaned from end-of-life tyres, and those involved in the project have been acknowledged for their contribution. Pyrolysis-based recycling specialist Pyrum Innovations, together with BASF, Mercedes-Benz and Witte Automotive, received a Materialica Design + Technology Award 2022 at this month’s eMove360 ° trade fair.
Discarded tyres will soon find a new home within the latest Mercedes-Benz models. Pyrum Innovations AG, which produces pyrolysis oil from end-of-life tyres (ELT), is supplying oil to its cooperation partner BASF SE, which in turn is combining the oil with biomethane as a raw material in the production of virgin plastics for vehicle components. Door handles will be the first products to have their fossil raw materials replaced by biomethane and pyrolysis oil from ELT. These will appear on Mercedes-Benz EQE and S-Class models later in 2022.
New for 2022, the Mercedes-Benz EQB is a fully electric compact SUV that weighs in at 2.1 tonnes and delivers up to 292hp through its 66.5 kWh motor, power that will get it from 0 to 62mph in as little as 6 seconds. Versions of the EQB delivered with 19-inch rims as standard will roll from the factory on Continental tyres. Continental is supplying its EcoContact 6 to Mercedes-Benz in size 235/50 R19 103T XL.
Mercedes-Benz has chosen Continental tyre technology for its C-Class and will equip the car with the PremiumContact 6 and EcoContact 6 in a total of four sizes.
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