Unseasonable wet weather has boosted sales of Goodyear’s Aquatread 3 passenger car tyre in North America. Sales of the wet weather tyre have risen by 30%, setting record sales levels for the premium tyre brand. Some nine out of ten users said they would buy the tyre again, setting new records in customer loyalty achievements.
The “Essen-Motor-Show” is putting its foot down! After the record exhibition in 2000 (with 394,800 guests, 12.4 percent more visitors), it has been accelerating once again: the range on offer, which already covered many diverse aspects of automobiles and related products, became even wider in 2001. A total of more than 550 exhibitors, including the leading automobile manufacturers, presented what was on offer on the global market in 18 exhibition halls. Special emphasis was placed on the sporty and individual vehicle models as well as on the wide range of vehicle accessories. Current racing vehicles from all motor-sport categories, including a large number of this season’s Formula-1 cars, supplemented the range on show, where all the major players, almost without exception, were represented. Many exhibitors had booked larger booth areas. Other automobile manufacturers who had not exhibited their makes before had announced their participation in the “Number 2” of all German vehicle fairs. Because of the greater demand for exhibition space, the exhibition management had therefore decided to provide an additional large hall for the “Automobiles” and “Tuning” exhibition sections. VDAT – Verband Deutscher Automobil-Tuner e.V. (the “Association of German Automobile Tuners”) had also intensified its involvement in the Essen-Motor-Show 2001. VDAT members presented themselves exclusively in the VDAT Halls 5, 10 and 11 which were designed with a salon character.
Rumours in the tyre market anticipate record sales for the Continental Group of almost 9 billion Euros for 1999, mainly due to the integration of Teves. This rise also presents a 30% increase in EBIT to around 520 million Euros. Exact figures were made available in early April.
Superior Industries (Van Nuys/California), North America’s Leading oe supplier of aluminium wheels, announced record revenues of more than 331 m US-$ (+13.5%) and record net income to more than 40 m US-$ (+16.3%) after tax.
Dr. Volker Wingefeld (49), Finance Director of Dunlop GmbH, is leaving the company within the next few weeks to join the board of Buderus AG, responsible for finance. Dr. Manfred Gerresheim (61), board member responsible for technical development and Robert Schäfer (61), chief executive of Dunlop, are considering leaving at the end of this year. The Dunlop management team is completed by its fourth member, Hans-Jürgen Wagner and, during the 90s, was very successful, turning in several record profits in a row.
Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. have declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share. The dividend is payable December 15, to shareholders of record on November 16. The payout represents an annual rate of $1.20 per share.
Dunlop GmbH (Hanau) expects further turnover and profit increases in the 1999 tyre business. Turnover will rise by almost ten per cent over the previous year to 1.64 billion marks. The pre-tax group profit will be significantly above the 1998 level of 133 million marks. The good business development is due to consistently strong demand for Dunlop tyres both in original equipment and in replacement. High winter tyre sales figures also contribute to this development, representing approximately 20 p.c. in Dunlop’s total German production. Dunlop 1999 winter tyre sales will probably have gone up by 16 p.c. over 1998. Since 1994 Dunlop GmbH has doubled its car tyre sales. During the last few years the Hanau tyre manufacturer has made progress in the high-performance tyre segment far above the market average, and the company operates a profit-sharing scheme for its employees. Against the industry trend, the Dunlop payroll has increased by almost 21 p.c. since 1991, with the number of people working for Dunlop GmbH at the end of November 1999 reaching almost 5,000. If one leaves out the former subsidiary Dunlop TECH, which ceased to belong to the contributing members of the Dunlop GmbH group in the middle of last year, the figure is similar to that of the previous year.
The london-based Legal and General Group has announced that it is managing assets worth £102 billion; a 25% increase. Subsidiary company Legal & General Ventures Ltd. is the main shareholder of Dorana, which purchased Stinnes-Reifendienst last year.
Never before so many winter tyres were sold in Germany. The dealers association BRV estimated 17 million units (= +15.3%) for 1999. Also the aftermarket in summer tyres was in plus (+0.9%) with 23 million in total.
Membership of the German tyre retailers’ association BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur Handwerk) reached record levels in January, when 82 new tyre retailers joined. The association now has 1,115 members with 1,443 outlets, which represents around 73 per cent of the 3,500 tyre dealers in Germany.
Hayes Lemmerz, the world’s leading supplier of wheels, has announced record 1999 fourth quarter and full year figures in both earnings and sales. The strong expansion of the wheel business (especially aluminium wheels) and the acquisition of CMI are the main reasons for the good results. Hayes Lemmerz also announced the contract for its sixth wheel/tire assembly facility: for BMW in Munich.
Approximately 29 million winter tyres will be sold in Central Europe (i.e. without Scandinavia) this winter. In Germany alone the figure will be well in excess of 16 million units (55 p.c.). Germany’s motorists will spend about three billion marks this year on tyres and services when refitting their vehicles with winter tyres.
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