Micheldever Tyre Services reports that tyre industry records were being broken in September, but in the worst possible manner for the safety of the British motoring public. Instead of reporting that more and better quality tyres are being sold as you might expect, the tyre wholesaler reports that retail depots are changing tyres in a worse state than ever.
September results in the segment of buses and coaches over 3.5 tonnes were diverse across countries, leading to an overall 5.5 per cent contraction of the EU market. While the UK (+43.3 per cent) and Spain (+5.3 per cent) performed better than in the same month last year, France (-22.7 per cent), Germany (-26.3 per cent) and Italy (-26.6 per cent) experienced a double-digit downturn.
September, demand for new vans (light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes) declined across the EU, except in Slovakia (+9.5 per cent) and the UK (+1.1 per cent), resulting in an overall 13.5 per cent decrease. France (-12.4 per cent), Germany (-14.6 per cent), Italy (-27.6 per cent) and Spain (-34.3 per cent) all faced a double digit downturn. In total, the region counted 123,938 new vans in the month.
In September, the EU recorded 18,529 new heavy trucks (over 16 tonnes), or 14.8 per cent less than in September 2011. All significant markets contracted, from -6.7 per cent in the UK to -18.6 per cent in France, -22.9 per cent in Germany, -28.6 per cent in Spain and -33.8 per cent in Italy. Nine months into the year, the decline was 7.7 per cent, with a total of 162,355 new registrations.
In September, ACEA figures reveal that a total of 150,910 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU, which is 13.7 per cent less than in the same month last year.
GiTi Tire (Europe) reports that it is aiming to increase market share in Portugal with a new distribution structure for the GT Radial brand. From this month Tiresur, which already controls the brand’s Spanish distribution, will be responsible for the passenger car, 4×4 and light truck tyres, while SEA will continue to control the commercial vehicle segment including medium and heavy truck and bus tyres.
New car registration figures for the EU from ACEA show that demand for new cars was down -10.8% in September, amounting to 1,099,264 units, compared with September 2011. Nine months into the year, the downturn reached -7.6%, with a total of 9,368,327 new cars registered in the EU.
Welshman Elfyn Evans has become the second-ever winner of the Pirelli-supported WRC Academy, a series attached to the FIA World Rally Championship and designed to identify future champions by pitting young drivers against each other in identical Ford Fiesta R2 rally cars. When Evans took his fourth consecutive win this year on the all-asphalt Rallye de France, his table tally rose to a level that put the title mathematically out of his rivals’ reach, despite there being one round of the Academy left to go this year.
The Westlake tyre brand will be distributed in Spain by Don Tyre SL following the completion of an agreement with Eskay Tyres. The company, part of the Al Dobowi Group, distributes the Westlake brand in several key European markets and says the latest move is intended to expand the brand in Spain through several strategic alliances with key players in the sector. Unlike the deal in the UK, under which Axle Group Holdings company Viking Wholesale Tyres distributes the brand exclusively, Eskay has chosen a strategy involving several distribution partners for Westlake in Spain.
Spanish Environmental Group, HERA Holding and US sustainable materials company, Lehigh Technologies Inc have announced a partnership to bring in micronized rubber powder (MRP) for the tyre, consumer and industrial plastics and coatings industries in Europe. Lehigh says that MRPs can lower costs, increase the sustainability profile of end products and deliver performance without sacrificing the reliability and performance of traditional raw materials. Its customer base already includes five of the top ten largest tyre companies in the world, and the company estimates that more than 140 million tyres have been manufactured using its MRP. The new partnership aims to bring MRP into Europe with Hera Holding adapting its recycling plant in Navarra, Spain to allow for the production of MRP.
Bridgestone Corporation held its third annual Bridgestone Global Total Quality Management (TQM) Conference on Friday, 14 September, at the company's Global Manufacturing Education Center (G-MEC) building in Kodaira City, Tokyo. The motto for this year's event was "Standards are Our Guiding Principle,” and a focus was placed upon ‘kaizen’ – the Japanese word describing improvement or change for the better – throughout the Bridgestone Group. In that context, Bridgestone Europe’s Burgos plant in Spain was given a TQM award, in particular thanks to “open and close standard based kaizen” in the plant’s curing department.”
There appears to be a collapse in the number of British towns supporting World Car Free Day on 22 September – the annual event that encourages motorists in over 1,000 towns around the globe to leave their cars at home in favour of bicycles, trains and buses. The lack of support can be blamed on slashed budgets for local government and dwindling interest in the environment, according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA); the organisation that first coordinated the event in Britain.
After declining by 7.8 per cent in July, new passenger car registrations in Europe were down by 8.9 per cent in August. Eight months into the year, the downturn reached 7.1 per cent as the EU registered 8,268,642 new cars.
The British passenger vehicle market was the only car parc in Europe to increase registrations in July. According to analysis produced by Jato Dynamics, Europe’s new car sales declined by 8.2 per cent in July, and 4.9 per cent year-to-date compared to last year. Great Britain grew 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile Italy and Spain recorded the greatest drops in July unit sales. Volkswagen’s Golf maintained its position as Europe’s top performing model.
Former Pirelli Star Driver Elfyn Evans claimed victory in last weekend’s Neste Oil Rally Finland, round three of the Pirelli-backed WRC Academy. Evans’ win marks the Briton’s second consecutive victory in this year’s series.
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