French car parking business Saemes is partnersing with Speedy (the French, Bridgestone-owned tyre and fast-fit operation) and “additional partners” to offer “maintenance of all types of vehicles within its car park”.
Scoobic Urban Mobility aims to be at the forefront of Europe’s growing last-mile delivery market, and the 100 per cent electric vehicles it designs and manufactures will now benefit from two key Bridgestone technologies. Under a recently signed European-level agreement, Scoobic will fit all new vehicles with Bridgestone tyres and equip them with factory-installed fleet management technology from Webfleet Solutions. In addition, Bridgestone’s retail network, including First Stop and Speedy outlets, takes responsibility for maintaining the Scoobic electric fleet and replacing tyres when necessary.
After recently selecting Bridgestone as exclusive tyre partner for its upcoming Ocean all-electric SUV, Fisker Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that covers Bridgestone’s provision of comprehensive aftersales and related maintenance solutions, beginning in France and Germany. Bridgestone will leverage its retail and service network to provide aftersales services to Fisker customers in these countries through the Speedy, Pitstop and Reiff-ABS networks.
As mentioned on Tyrepress.com yesterday, the future of tyre making at the site of Bridgestone’s recently-closed Béthune in France has been secured by a deal signed this month between major European vehicle maintenance and mobility firm Mobivia and French retreading specialist Black Star. With support from Bridgestone, the partners are gearing up to retread car, SUV and light commercial vehicle tyres in Béthune – products that Bridgestone intends to sell through selected retail outlets.
The newly created network will be made up of 160 Bridgestone locations, 240 franchisees and at least eight resale platforms. Bridgestone acquired Ayme & Fils in 2017 and has also been active in France with the Speedy autocentre/fast-fit business since 2016.
Bridgestone’s car tyre business is currently pushing boundaries to offer services beyond replacement tyres to motorists. The most obvious way the manufacturer is approaching this is in the application of its DriveGuard run-flat technology beyond the original line of DriveGuard car tyres. The tyre manufacturer has added DriveGuard RFT to its Turanza, Blizzak and Weather Control lines, extending the availability of the technology to an even greater breadth of the market.
Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone has agreed to buy Ayme Group, the owner of France’s largest independent tyre retail chain – Côté Route.
Bridgestone has taken a minority shareholding in French tyre retailer Pneus à bas prix. Details of the exact stake the tyre maker has acquired or how much it paid have not been released, however Bridgestone states that the new arrangement reinforces its presence in France and complements the company’s First Stop and Speedy retail operations.
Following the acquisition of all necessary approvals on 28 July, Bridgestone EMEA has completed the 100 per cent acquisition of fast fit network Speedy France. Bridgestone EMEA announced its plan to acquire the French retail chain on 30 May 2016.
Bridgestone has announced its plan to acquire 100 per cent of the car service and tyre retail network Speedy France. The manufacturer intends to use the new acquisition to increase its direct access to end-users in France, one of its core European markets, as well as in other markets where Speedy has a presence. The finalisation of the acquisition is subject to approval by the regulatory authorities; once approved, and the transaction is completed, Bridgestone’s French presence will be expanded to more than 800 retail outlets, contributing strongly to its accelerated growth strategy.
Bridgestone Europe has appointed Timothy Manuel, currently general manager of channel strategy as director replacement sales in the company’s European Consumer Business Unit. Despite having taking on this new role, Manuel remains responsible for Consumer Business Unit channel strategy and the Motorcycle Business Unit at European level. Moving forward, his key focus is said to be the development of the company’s passenger car sales in Europe, working closely with the six different European regions.
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.
Hans; Pixabay
Bridgestone, First Stop