Pirelli-shod cars swept the board in the Rally Mexico in mid-March, taking all three podium places.
Out in front was the Subaru of Petter Solberg, who led from start to finish for his second victory of the year. He won six out of the 14 all-gravel stages, finishing 34.5 seconds ahead of the Pirelli-equipped Peugeots of Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced that Pierre E Cohade, formerly executive vice president of worldwide water and beverage company, Groupe Danone, will become president of Goodyear’s Asia-Pacific region.
200 jobs are to go from a total workforce of 1,150 at Continental’s factory at Mayfield, Kentucky. The losses will be implemented at the beginning of July, as production is reduced from 10,900 tyres a day to 7,300. Continental operates five factories in the USA and Mexico, employing a total of 10,500 and the company has said that it has no plans to axe a factory.
Superior Industries is to build a new wheel-manufacturing plant in Mexico, with construction starting this year and production beginning in mid-2006. Mexico was chosen because of cheaper labour costs, although the factory is expected to have a high degree of automation. Estimated cost of the plant is $60-80 million and it will have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million wheels.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. purchased certain assets from Hayes Wheels Aluminio, S.A. de C.V., which operated a cast aluminum wheel plant in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Chihuahua aluminium wheel plant has been renamed “Hayes Lemmerz Aluminio, S. de R.L. de C.V.” and will be part of Hayes Lemmerz’ International Wheel Group.
Falling car sales in the USA have led VW to announce a cut in output at its plant in Mexico by 23 per cent. The move will entail laying off around 2,000 workers and contrasts with news earlier in the week that VW has approved an increase in production at its Chinese operations. Last year, China took over from Germany as VW’s largest single market.
The last assembly line in the world for the old-style Volkswagen Beetle, at Puebla, Mexico, is to close in the next few weeks. The Beetle was first produced in 1945 and 21 million have been made since. Sales have been hit by competition from imported subcompact cars; almost as cheap, but much more modern in design and technology.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. has announced its intention to sell up to 225 million US dollars of senior unsecured notes due in 2010. Hayes Lemmerz intends to use the net proceeds from the offer to make payments in connection with its Plan of Reorganisation to support its emergence from Chapter 11. Hayes Lemmerz, its U.S. subsidiaries and one subsidiary organised in Mexico filed voluntary petitions for reorganisation under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on December 5, 2001.
Pirelli P6 Four Seasons tyres are to be fitted as standard on the Ford Focus ZTS in the USA and are an option on the ZX3, SE and ZX5 models. The size in question is P205/50 R16 87H and the tyres will be manufactured in Pirelli’s Brazilian factory and shipped to Ford’s plants in Hermosillo, Mexico and Wayne, Michigan. Pirelli has enjoyed OE success in the US with summer tyres on cars imported from Europe, but this latest contract puts the company in the forefront of OE all-season business.
Auropolis analysts expect vehicle production in North America to fall by 10 per cent in 2003 even is a war is avoided or short. The drop will continue even if current price-cutting is extended. Despite action to maintain volumes US sales fell for eight months in 2002 and showed lower year-on-year figures for the second straight year in a row. In a market characterised by fears over some carmakers’ financial foundations, waning consumer confidence and a market which has been almost saturated with overly-cheap cars for three years, the prospects are poor. Past cycles in the US show, that when it comes, the market normally corrects sharply and quickly. Swings in sales of more than 20% from the highest point to the lowest over an 18 month period are typical says the firm. The only reason that the situation might be better this time is because Mexico’s market should grow in 2004 thanks to price cuts anticipated there. Assuming a normal pace of recovery, Autopolis say the North American market will take until 2009 to have returned to its peak level again.
Ford’s Excursion 4×2 and Super Duty F-250 and F-350 Models will run on Pirelli Scorpion STRs as OE fit in 2003. Powertrains are at the heart of doing what SUVs and trucks are designed to do. A wide range of engines give these vehicles incredible power and torque, including the all new 6.0-litre, turbocharged, Power Stroke V8 diesel. Pirelli’s Scorpion STR is designed to cope with the torque and towing potential. The LT265/75 R 16 radials will be available with either black sidewalls or raised outline white letters. The Pirelli Scorpion STRs destined for 2003 Ford Excursions and Super Duty pickups will be manufactured in Pirelli’s factory in Brazil. The technical specification of the STR includes the combination of steel belts and nylon wrap for which Pirelli is famous, being the core technology behind Pirelli’s high-speed performance tyres. Tyres will be shipped to Ford assembly plants in Louisville, Kentucky and Cuautitlan, Mexico and vehicles produced will be distributed in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
KoSa is investing in the expansion of two of its tyre cord facilities; at Queretaro (Mexico) and Charlotte (North Carolina). Output at Queretaro will increase by 40 per cent, while the investment at Salisbury will mean higher quality product for packages.
Superior Industries International is expanding its commitment to customers, employees and the environment by ensuring that its production facilities are all certified to ISO 14001 within the next six months. Already, plants at Pittsburg, Kansas, Arkansas, Chihuahua, Mexico and Tatabanya, Hungary are registered to ISO 14001, other plants at Arkansas, California and Tennessee should also gain certification within six months. Executive Vice President, Steven J. Borick said,” ISO 14001 certification underscores our commitment to quality and productivity, as well as to the quality of life of our employees and the communities in which we work.”
In Michigan, used tyre dealer Vernald Cole has been accused of selling recalled Firestone tyres on the wholesale market. The tyres have had the US DOT number removed from the sidewall – in accordance with recall instructions, but experts believe that this could have weakened the tyres. Dealers are then supposed to cut the tyres to make them unusable. Cole, whose slogan is “Cole Tire, the poor man’s friend”, is believed to have sold the tyres in Miami and Mexico. If convicted, he faces fines up to $20,000 and ten years’ imprisonment.
The German manufacturer made a loss of more than 250 million Euro last year, due mainly to restructuring expenses. This means that the group is going to close tyre factories in Mexico as well as Austria, Belgium, Germany and Sweden. While the European Car tyre Division remained very successful, the same cannot be said for the Truck Tyre Division and the American tyre activities are also in deep water, facing big losses. On the other hand, the group has had to pay over 200 million Euro for the remaining 40 per cent of Temic, having purchased the first 60 per cent from DaimlerChrysler earlier last year, but Continental has been unable to sell ContiTech; nobody was willing to buy that part of the group, which the management believes is worth about 1 billion Euro. What are the choices facing Continental now? Will the group not be forced to sell General Tire and the Truck Division in order to focus on passenger car tyres and ContiTeves in the automotive field?
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