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Cars Produced for Export Hit Record Total in 2004

The number of cars produced for export hit a record level last year, rising three per cent to 1,179,753 units, says the Office for National Statistics. However production for the UK market fell 9.1 per cent bringing last year’s total to 467,020 units, compared to 513,799 in 2003.

More than seven out of every 10 cars made in the UK are now destined for export markets, says the SMMT, adding that output for export markets rose for the third year in a row.

25th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Growth in CV assembly in 2004

Commercial vehicle output in the UK rose 10.8 per cent in 2004 according to provisional data released by the Office for National Statistics. However CVs produced for the home market fell 17.2 per cent for the three months to December because of a focus on meeting European demand.

“The 2004 figures show UK commercial production figures over 10 per cent up on the previous year,” said Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive. “Last year was a record breaker for CV registrations in the UK and it is encouraging to see production climbing too. European demand has helped export figures increase by 25 per cent and new UK product developments will help keep those figures up. It’s great to have so much good news from the CV sector.”

25th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Supports Worldwide Road Safety Campaign

Michelin has become involved with a project that aims to reduce the number of road deaths in developing countries. The scheme, implemented by the Global Road Safety Partnership will see the tyre manufacturer working together with Shell, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Renault and Toyota to focus on the issue of road safety.

According to the World Health Organisation’s statistics, if present trends continue, road accidents will have increased by 65 per cent in 15 years time.

17th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

SMMT Publication Launched

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has launched its annual publication “Motor Industry Of Great Britain – 2004 World Automotive Statistics”.

At nearly 500 pages, the report contains its usual comprehensive, in-depth examination of various aspects of the market, including detailed analysis of car and other vehicle sales. And not just vehicles, as the report contains details of numerous components, including tyres.

12th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

TIC Records Results

Results from the North West England Tyre Safety Campaign held in October 2004 have shown “a substantial reduction in the number of danger tyres on vehicles on the roads,” according to the TIC.

Police checks identified that the number of tyres below the legal minimum tread depth had fallen by just over four per cent compared with the previous year’s campaign.

7th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

UK Car Production Rises in November

According to provisional output data released by the Office for National Statistics the total UK car production rose 4.5 per cent in November and has reached its highest November output since 2000. “This performance demonstrates the resilience of UK car production since the period of restructuring at the turn of the decade. Our nine volume manufacturers are now on track to produce 1.65 million cars in 2004 and similar volumes in 2005,” commented SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan these figures published just before Christmas. “Growth 2004 has largely focused on production for export, demonstrating the value and strength of UK manufacturing in a competitive global market. Seven out of every 10 cars made in the UK are destined for export and we expect this trend to continue in 2005,” he added. The output volume of commercial vehicles was up six per cent in November 2004 with an export growth up 25 per cent for the month, and 27.3 per cent over year-to-November respectively. “The recovery in CV demand throughout Europe has had a positive effect on UK production facilities. They have clearly been up to the challenge, delivering state-of-the-art vehicles throughout the EU. CVs produced for home markets remain broadly stable compared to 2003, reflecting the use of the UK as a positive outlet for new home produced vans and trucks. We still expect to meet the 2004 forecast for 210,000 units manufactured in the UK,” said Christopher Macgowan.

3rd January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Positive Predictions for Van and Truck Registration

Industry experts are predicting positive figures in UK commercial vehicle registration statistics, which are due for publication by SMMT tomorrow. Many van and truck makers claim to have experienced a continuing level of good demand and economists expect both markets to maintain their strong growth trend for the next 12 to 18 months.

5th July 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Small is dangerous – according to US research

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysed statistics from every major type of crash between 1991 and 1999 and found that occupants of lighter cars would suffer the most if the nation’s cars and trucks were to become lighter. NHTSA estimated that reducing weight per vehicle by an average 100 pounds would result in 597 more small-car deaths annually, 216 more large car deaths and 305 more light truck deaths. “It doesn’t mean we would rule out weight reductions,” said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson. “We don’t design vehicles. But it does mean the people who design vehicles will have to be careful about how they make weight reductions so they don’t compromise safety.” This continues a long tradition of defending the typically large US vehicle. If we all drive smaller cars then small cars are safe, otherwise the laws of physics apply.

15th October 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

RL Automotive: Taking the high tech route

Whilst it was Digital data gathering that set the ball rolling for RL Automotive, today it caters for the tyre market’s every need.

RL Automotive is a far cry from the usual tyre parts supplier. Here is a business where, from the outset in 1998, technology was always going to be at its core. Unlike many opportunists who see the tyre industry as a market for their latest software packages, RL Automotive is much more directly linked to the tyre business and offers technology in such a way that even the most Luddite of mechanics (is that a contradiction in terms?) can understand the benefits.

It began with the understanding that the emphasis on tyre costs was moving away from the cheapest-to-buy policy, to the cheapest-to-run, cost-per-kilometre approach to tyres. The tyre management theory of extending tyre life through a proper monitoring and maintenance schedule is in itself nothing new, but it is something that can only truly be worked efficiently by using computers to analyse the data gathered.

With the advance of computer technology there is no difficulty in compiling statistics and generating maintenance schedules from the statistics. The problem lies in the gathering of the data. Amazingly, it is still being done manually onto bits of paper, often using “less than perfect” tread probes. The whole process leads to poor quality data on reams of paper that more often than not can not be analysed correctly. It is also a system which cannot function in wet weather!

Mark Longden, MD of RL Automotive, saw an opportunity to develop digital tyre reading equipment that made life simpler for the collector of the data. It also created a platform that can, with wireless technology, enter and then deliver data from the tyre depth gauge into the vehicle record back at base. Where relevant, this same information can then effortlessly be collated at Head Office and the information used in countless ways.

At the same time as developing this digital product range, the company has built up a mainstream Tyre Service Products distribution business by selecting high quality products from around the world.

11th August 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Disappointment at Government’s initial response to producer responsibility question

In January, the Tyre Industry Council held one of its regular briefings for the press and associate companies. After welcome from Secretary Peter Taylor, Chris Wakley, who handles public relations for the TIC, gave a brief summary of last year’s activities. While stressing that the support from police forces was as strong as ever, he said that fewer tyre checks than planned had been carried out. One reason for this was the need for cars to accompany the Green Goddesses during the firefighters’ strike, but another major reason was the perennial problem of lack of fitters to attend roadside checks. The reasons for this have been frequently aired in this magazine, but the fact is, said Wakley, that fitters are essential for the exercise, as police are sometimes reluctant to interpret tyre law at the roadside and rely on the trade’s specialist knowledge. The end result is that the number of cars checked was around half of that in 2001.Despite this, the figures concerning illegal tyres are remarkably consistent, with 11.6% of cars checked having at least one tyre with a tread depth below 1.6 mm. The figure for 2001 was 11.7%. However, when we look at what the TIC describes as “badly worn tyres” (ie with a tread depth above the legal minimum but below 2mm), there has been a worrying increase, from 11.7% to 14.9%. Although common sense dictates that worn tyres increase the chances of an accident, this is not accepted by Government, who say that statistics show that tyres contribute to a very small number of accidents. The TIC’s answer to this is that the police rarely record tyre tread depths in accident situations, so the figures are artificially low.

10th February 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Another Ford-Firestone Settlement

Once again Ford and Firestone have settled a roll-over claim. This case attracted an even higher level of interest as two of the victims of the crash were high profile people. Earl Shinhoster, a veteran NAACP civil rights official in Atlanta, died in the 2000 Ford Explorer crash which also injured Samimah Aziz, a goddaughter of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the driver, Ademah Hackshaw. The Explorer was in a motorcade with the first lady of Liberia and a state patrol escort making this an unusual case. Ruby Shinhoster speaking for herself and two other survivors said “I’m relieved …. but they still haven’t admitted they did anything wrong.” Bridgestone/Firestone spokesman Dan MacDonald said the company was pleased to resolve the case without a trial. “Although the tire line involved in this case has an excellent safety record, protracted litigation is in no one’s best interest,” Firestone has now settled some 700 such cases. Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes said the company believes the Explorer is a safe vehicle and statistics back up the claim. Ford and the tire maker had said the accident happened partly because the tire was 7 years old and the motorcade was travelling at least 80 mph in a 70 mph zone.

10th January 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Questions Raised Over Explorer Ad Campaign

Under pressure in Venezuela, Ford has produced an advertisement listing statistics that show that the Explorer compares favourably in safety terms with other SUVs. Although no competitive vehicles are mentioned by name in the advert, both Daimler/Chrysler and GM (Venezuela) have objected to it and are casting doubts on the accuracy of the figures.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

A Question Of Statistics: Influence Of Tyre Pressure On Traffic Safety

Three percent of all traffic accidents in Germany occur due to technical defects on the cars, more than half of which are tyre defects; in total round about two percent of all accidents are due to the tyres. This figure seems to be reassuring, but they apply only to accidents caused directly and undoubtedly from the tyres – for example a puncture. The question “what was the reason for the puncture?” – maybe a long-term inner defect – is never asked. In the common statistics no hint is given on the influence of reduced tyre pressure on traffic safety. Nobody can give information about how many accidents happened because of faulty steering or below-standard characteristics in bends or hydroplaning safety. Also accidents involving stationary vehicles parked on the street are not counted in the statistics. Collisions with “objects” on the roads are mentioned, but the objects are not specified. Very often these “objects” are tyres or parts of tyres, which can be a very dangerous obstacle – especially when the objects are truck tyres. For the statistics regarding accidents caused by faulty tyres it is still correct what was mentioned in an analysis in 1985 – and it sounds ironical: one result of the report is that it is not possible to make concrete declarations about the reasons for accidents. All we know is that low pressure in the tyres has an influence on the number of accidents – but nobody can say how much.

30th November 2001/by Tyrepress Editors

Joan Claybrook Attacks Goodyear

Whilst working at the National Highways Transportation Safety Administration in 1979 Joan Claybrook forced Firestone to recall the S 500 Tyre. Later, as president of Washington-based Public Citizen consumer protection group she was at the forefront of pressurising Bridgestone/Firestone into their second large scale recall. Now she is turning the guns on Goodyear and is joining the growing band of lobbyists for a Goodyear recall on Load Range E tyres. As reported previously in TYRES & ACCESSORIES, there have been 15 deaths related to tread separations on Load Range E tyres and a larger number of non-fatal accidents, with some 58 incidents being reported to the NHTSA. Goodyear emphatically deny that there is any tyre fault and cite the low number of accidents in relation to 27 million tyres sold since 1991. Two years ago the company recalled 600,000 tyres and has voluntarily recalled tyres on other occasions, on one instance the fault was as a result of faulty tyre fitting procedure at Chrysler, but Goodyear handled the recall. So why not this time? Now several consumer action groups, including Public Citizen, Strategic Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety are calling for a recall based on the existing accident statistics to prevent further incidents. They suggest that the reason for Goodyear not recalling the tyres is the tremendous cost involved in recalling an estimated 13 million tyres still in use. The cost would run to several hundred million dollars, much more than the costs Firestone have recently incurred. Again, Goodyear deny that this is the case, explaining that in the previous recalls there were clear faults with the tyres, this they say is different, the separations are, they claim, subject to many different causes and are not the responsibility of Goodyear.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors

ADAC Defects Statistics For 1999

German automobile club ADAC has published its yearly statistics of car defects. In three of four categories, the compact-, the lower middle- and the middle-class, Japanese cars are in the top positions. European car manufacturers were top only in the upper-class segment.

7th December 2000/by Tyrepress Editors