(Tire Review) The University of the Aftermarket and SEMA are collaborating on an accredited marketing program. University of the Aftermarket has accredited the SEMA “Online Marketing Conference,” a day-long business marketing workshop that will take place on Monday, Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, the day before the SEMA Show opens.
The UK government is to extend the successful “bangers for cash” scrappage scheme until February 2010 with £100 million in extra funding. Alongside the increased funding the government will work with manufacturers to extend the benefits to van owners with vehicles over 8 years old rather than the current 10 year requirement. Car owners will also get a boost, with the age qualification changed by 6 months to extend the benefits to cars registered on or before 29 Feb 2000 (V registration). The scheme will come to an end in February 2010 or when the funding runs out, which ever is sooner.
So far 227,750 orders have been placed through the scheme. The increased funding enables the scheme to fund a further 100,000 vehicles, bringing total budget to £400 million and covering up to 400,000 vehicles in total. The extension continues as a government and manufacturer partnership, with matched funding providing the £2,000 discount for each scrappage order.
Announcing the news Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “The sector has been strongly affected by the recession, but the scrappage scheme has delivered a boost to manufacturers and the supply chain. We have listened to the concerns of manufacturers and are increasing the funding of the scheme to £400 million.”
Bridgestone UK has announced that it has renewed its supply deal with NR Evans Distribution, one of the UK’s largest temperature-controlled commercial vehicle fleets. The manufacturer will provide tyres for the company’s 300-plus vehicles and trailers, helping it deliver more than £500 million-worth of chilled products each year.
Ceat Ltd. in partnership with Total Lubricants, has organised an “interactive knowledge platform” called Ceat Pro in Nagpur, India. The idea is to give customers access to best practice ideas to help them their businesses and reduce operation costs.
According to the company, Ceat Pro is intended to be a common platform for sharing information and resources. Panellists at the event spoke on fuel economy, trends in the India lubricant market, the use of telematics to increase fleet efficiency, and crucially tyre radialization and the future of tyres in India.
Apollo has won an OE fitment with Mitsubishi in India. Mitsubishi’s Pajero SUV will now come with Apollo’s Hawkz AT (265/70R15) as standard. The Hawkz range is available in five applications. The HL for highway luxury, AT for all terrain, HT for highway terrain, RT for rough terrain and RTs for off-road maximum traction. An off-road winter version is also available in the Hawkz Ice. Apollo’s Hawkz is already a standard fitment for a number of Indian utility vehicle manufacturers.
Satish Sharma, Chief, India Operations, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said, “Our partnership with Mitsubishi for its Pajero is as much about a product fit, as a personality match. Much like the Hawkz, Pajero has a global appeal because of its performance and customer connect. This is a beginning for both of us, and going forward we are looking to work closely with Mitsubishi India.”
Alan Revie, executive chairman and majority shareholder in the National Tyres & Autocare retail chain, has reportedly bought most of the group's properties in a £49.2 million deal. Citing Axle Group Holdings’ accounts for the year to 31 December 2008, Crain’s Manchester Business suggests the move shows that Revie is about to exit the business.
According to the report, parent company Axle Group Holdings Ltd made a profit of £3.87 million from the sale of the properties to Axle Investments Ltd, which is described as a partnership controlled by Revie. It said the sale was “on normal commercial terms amounting to £49.2 million” but added that Axle Investments still owed the group £49.2 million at the year end. During 2008, the net book value of the group's freehold land and buildings fell from £3.8 million to £107,000. The statement of recognised gains and losses includes a £37.3 million surplus from property revaluations.
Infinity Tyres’ French distribution partner, Fort Pneus, has announced that despite the current economic situation, sales of Infinity tyres have increased “substantially during the first half of the year.” In a recent internal newsletter, company representatives reported that Fort Pneus staff were presented with an Infinity brand plans for the future including details of “considerable investment in new product and sizes” Referring to his meeting with Al-Dobowi Group executive director Harjeev Kandhari, Frederic Breysse, director of Fort Pneus, commented: “The visit by Infinity was a huge success. There are exciting plans to grow the brand in France and we look forward to developing our partnership with them.”
Advantage PressurePro, LLC and Pana-Pacific (a division of The Brix Group, Inc.) have signed a distribution partnership. Pana-Pacific has a long history of being the go-to distribution house for heavy-duty truck manufacturers to provide world-class products for their vehicles that live up to the standards required by users of their vehicles. Similarly, PressurePro remains a noted pioneer of TPMS technology, known for providing reliable, durable, accurate TPMS products.
After five years of partnership, Nitrogen inflation specialists at Tyre Bay Direct are reporting that using their Uniflate system has helped Merityre Specialists Ltd, the largest independent tyre specialist in the Home Counties, stay ahead of the game. Established in 1963, Merityre now has nineteen service centres across the region. Staying ahead of the market is clearly a big consideration for the company, with their stated aim to exceed customer expectations and the presence of a well-established customer care programme to back this up.
Bridgestone UK Ltd has extended its tyre supply agreement with AAH Pharmaceuticals who. Bridgestone/Truck Point have been supplying tyres and tyre service management to AAH since 2006. With 3,800 employees at 20 locations and making over 100,000 deliveries a week, AAH operates over 1,100 commercial vehicles.
More than 54,000 drivers have taken part in BMW Driver Training programmes in Europe during the last three years and benefited from its specialised courses to improve individual driver skills, reactions and awareness. In August, Bridgestone announced the signing of a three-year contract to supply tyres to this business group within the German manufacturer’s “M” division. Through the agreement, Bridgestone becomes the exclusive tyre supplier for the BMW Driver Training fleet, which is made up of 1-Series, 3-Series, X5 and X6 vehicles, as well as the BMW M model range.
Blackcircles.com is aiming to increase its garage network by 30 per cent by the end of 2009, adding as many as 400 garages. Announcing the news the company vowed to help independent garages “fight back”, saying it offers “additional revenue, customer footfall and national marketing, helping [independents] compete with major high street brands.”
Six pupils from schools across the country have beaten off stiff competition to win prizes in a national art competition to design the car of the future.
TyreSafe and RoadSafe have formalised a reciprocal agreement. The collaboration will see the organisations working more closely together, taking an active part in each other’s development and initiatives to reduce the number of casualties and accidents on the UK’s roads. TyreSafe has become a full member of RoadSafe meaning it will take a seat on its advisory panel, while RoadSafe has joined TyreSafe as an associate member.
In order to witness the benefits of wheel alignment in action, Goodyear recently invited Tyres & Accessories to see a demonstration of tractor wheel alignment technology at Harper Adams University College in Shropshire. Over the years Goodyear Dunlop has developed a long-term partnership with Harper Adams and is therefore able to use this leading agricultural educational establishment’s specialist facilities (which include an off-road test track and specialised covered and open test ploughing fields) from time to time with which the company.
During the demonstration Jason Hoare, part of the technical support/sales team within Goodyear UK’s agricultural tyre department, stressed that being just 14 millimetres out of alignment (a measurement that is dwarfed by the size of your average tractor – and that has been known to be found on brand new vehicles) can reduce tyre life by 33 per cent and absorb nearly six horse power when travelling at 50 km/h.
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.
