French automotive and mobility sector company Mobivia, which operates 11 brands and some 20 start-ups in several countries, has a new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Following its election on 27 January, the company’s Board of Directors chose Romain Sartorius to lead the firm for the next four years.
French automotive group Mobivia has named Thibaut Lesaffre managing director of tyre retailer and automotive parts and service provider Norauto France. Thibaut succeeds Patrick Dhennin, who will retire in January 2024 after 43 years with Mobivia.
Half a year after producing the first car tyres under the Leonard brand name, Black Star has already entered into several agreements regarding the range’s distribution in France. The retreader, which is 60 per cent owned by automotive aftermarket group Mobivia, is now bringing the first vehicle manufacturer on board.
France’s Mobivia has sold its Norauto tyre, battery and automotive servicing network in Argentina to Stellantis. the company says it is ceasing activities in South America in order to refocus and strengthen its performance in Europe.
Black Star, the car tyre retreading operation owned that took over the ex-Bridgestone Bethune new tyre factory, has launched its new range of retreaded car tyres called “Leonard”. Blackstar is run by iWip, the Mobivia subsidiary dedicated to the circular economy. Mobivia also owns the ATU autocentre chain in Germany as well as the Norauto garage business in France amongst other enterprises.
After four years as chief executive officer of German tyre and car service network ATU, Matthieu Foucart is returning to parent company Mobivia in France. There he will assume overall responsibility for the group’s workshop and specialist dealer business, which includes the Norauto, Midas, Auto 5 and ATU brands. His successor heading the four-person ATU management team is Sascha Bopp, who will take over as chief executive officer on 1 October 2022.
As mentioned on Tyrepress.com yesterday, the future of tyre making at the site of Bridgestone’s recently-closed Béthune in France has been secured by a deal signed this month between major European vehicle maintenance and mobility firm Mobivia and French retreading specialist Black Star. With support from Bridgestone, the partners are gearing up to retread car, SUV and light commercial vehicle tyres in Béthune – products that Bridgestone intends to sell through selected retail outlets.
A change at the top has been announced at A.T.U., the European automotive services provider that Michelin acquired a 20 per cent share in earlier this year. After serving as chief executive officer for the past three years, Jörn Werner is stepping out of the company’s operative business and has become chairman of the company’s Supervisory Board. He succeeds Fabien Derville, who is president of majority shareholder, Mobivia Groupe.
Mobivia and Point S have agreed a procurement alliance. According to the two companies, this strategic alliance will cover the listing and sourcing of the products ranges purchased by both Groups – that is tyres and car parts – for the markets they cover. However, while the two organisations are working together in terms of purchasing, under the terms of the alliance each group remains autonomous when it comes to the management of its network, policies and development.
Back in March Norauto, a leading vehicle maintenance chain, and Oxyo-pneus.fr, the fourth largest player in the online tyre market in France, merged their e-commerce activities.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
Black Star