A new analysis of future automotive demand in Africa suggests the continent will experience “significant growth opportunities” and almost double in the next 10 to 12 years. The IHS report, which is called “Final Automotive Frontier”, suggests that Africa, with one of the world´s fastest- growing middle classes, is showing “pronounced promise for the global automotive industry”.
European passenger car registrations continued their growth phase with another strong monthly rise in September. According to ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association) figures, growth was up 9.8 per cent year-on-year to 1,356,868 units.
28,000 new jobs could be created in the UK automotive supply chain by 2020, according to a new forecast report from industry trade body The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The report, “The future of UK automotive manufacturing in 2025 and beyond”, identifies growth in vehicle manufacturing and a move to connected and autonomous technology as presenting significant opportunities for British component suppliers in the coming years. It estimates that British car production is set to reach a record two million vehicles annually by 2020 – a 33 per cent increase on the current 1.5 million.
Krone has become the first trailer manufacturer to offer Goodyear’s latest winter commercial vehicle tyres as original equipment. Krone has approved the Goodyear Ultra Grip Max T in sizes 385/65R22.5 and 385/55R22.5 for trailers destined for severe winter operations.
The instability in Ukraine plus the plummeting oil price has had a devastating impact on the outlook for trailer demand in Russia, according to new research published by Clear. Nearly 24,000 trailers were wiped from the last forecast for the 2015 – 2019 period in the report issued in March 2015. In the latest forecast a further 8,000 trailers have been removed from the forecast for Russia and the Ukraine.
On 1 October 2015 Nexen Tire broke ground on the site of its new plant in Zatec, Czech Republic. The company has committed to investing more than 829 million euros in building the new plant on 650,000 square metres of land in Zatec.
DAF has become the first truck manufacturer to approve Goodyear’s Ultra Grip Max winter truck tyres as factory-fit options. Operators ordering new DAF trucks built from week 41 onwards can now specify Goodyear Ultra Grip Max S steer tyres and Ultra Grip Max D drive tyres in sizes 315/70R22.5 and 315/80R22.5.
Trade values of Volkswagen vehicles have fallen 3 per cent following news of the emissions scandal, according to figures from Glass’s. The figures may be marginal when considered in detail, but they go against the flow of the market.
Trade values of all Volkswagen used cars in the Glass’s database are currently the same as they were at the beginning of September. However, the overall used car market has seen an increase of 2.1 per cent during the same period – meaning that the value of the VWs have effectively fallen by 2.1 per cent.
In mid-September the emissions hit the fan for VW. What began with an admission that half a million Golfs and Beetles were not showing the right emissions values in lab tests, quickly became a global scandal involving 11 million vehicles, disastrously affecting the group’s share price, resulting in the ‘restructuring’ of the firm’s global leadership and worst of all affecting confidence in both VW and the wider automotive and automotive testing industries.
News that VW is recalling almost half a million diesel cars in the US is bad enough, but the revelation that this is because the company put so-called defeat devices into the cars in order to mislead emissions testing systems is likely to damage the OEM’s reputation. And there is a growing financial cost too.
Nexen Tyre has been recognized as an “outstanding supplier” by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Nexen received the award at the ‘2014 Outstanding Supplier Quality Award’ held on 15th September, at Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul, Korea by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
Pirelli is celebrating 2000 homologations of its premium products. In the first half of 2015 alone, the Italian firm added 200 new homologations to its line-up, including those some of the most high profile vehicles at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. These include the new Bentley Bentayga; the Mercedes GLC, BMW X1, BMW 7 Series and Jaguar F-Pace.
Nexen Tyre has shared details of its participation in the ‘66th International Automobile Ausstellung (IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2015)’, held from 15 to 27 September.
Cenex – the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for low carbon technologies – is pleased to be celebrating ‘10 years of excellence’ in the low carbon vehicle sector. Established in 2005 as the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies, Cenex operates as an independent not-for-profit consultancy and specialises in the delivery of projects which support innovation and market development to accelerate the shift to a low carbon economy.
On 31 August, Nexen Tire announced that it will supply Volkswagen with its N’blue Premium tyre for the new Volkswagen Caddy, a compact van with global sales topping 1.5 million units over the past 11 years. The vehicle will be produced in Poznan, Poland and the tyres Nexen supplies will be 195/65 R15 products.
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.