Hankook Tire reports it has formed a partnership with Applus+ IDIADA. As part of what it calls a strategic alliance, the tyre maker has built a new technical office in Spain and will carry out joint research for tyre testing and development. This 7,200 square metre test centre will be known as the “Spain Technical Office for European Technical Center”.
It’s never easy to follow up a smash hit – just ask Gotye – but with more than seven million UltraGrip 8s shipped in Europe since 2011, Goodyear’s ninth generation winter tyre is following an all-time great. Travelling to Goodyear’s Innovation Centre Luxembourg earlier this year with dealers from across Europe, Tyres & Accessories got an exclusive preview of the new tyre, in addition to some insights from Xavier Fraipont, director technology consumer tyres EMEA, about the development process that has led to the UG 9.
The SMMT’s Award for Automotive Innovation, is returning for a fifth time this year. Sponsored by GKN and supported by The Times, the award recognises UK-born concepts and technologies that have the potential to transform the wider automotive industry. Ford Motor Company took the crown last year with its efficient, yet powerful, 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, which now features in more than 100,000 cars and vans across the country.
When financial analysts said that 2009 was a “banner year” for Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co., Ltd. in a report published back in May, the market watchers weren’t overstating the facts. But in 2010, when the 2009 results were made public, the Taiwan-based tyre manufacturer which is responsible for the Maxxis brand and Maxxis International companies, announced plans for two new factories, an international standard proving ground and some high profile OE contracts. It was also the year that saw the company move into 10th place in Tyres & Accessories’ annual ranking of tyre manufacturing companies. With all this in mind T&A recently visited Cheng Shin/Maxxis’ Kunshan tyre production plant near Shanghai, China and asked if 2010 was the real breakthrough for Maxxis? And if so what happens next?
Goodyear has launched a new tyre designed to replace the much vaunted Eagle F1 GSD3, which scored top marks in almost every test going – including Auto Express, Autocar, Max Power, Evo and Which? But while the old tyre’s symmetrical tread design was key to the product’s success, Goodyear is expecting the new product to succeed exactly because it isn’t. In addition to an asymmetrical tread design, the Eagle F1 Asymmetric features an asymmetric casing construction designed to reinforce one side and squeeze more grip from the tyre. Goodyear representatives told Tyres & Accessories they were gearing up for more award success following the introduction of the ‘Active Cornergrip Technology’ into the design of its latest tyre.
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