In order to cater for the growing popularity of SUVs and the myriad of new models being released by vehicle manufacturers, Yokohama’s 4×4 tyre range has been developed to cater for the full spectrum of SUVs, crossovers and off-road vehicles.
Last month we heard that, according to the latest market data collated by analysts at GfK, both the value and the volume of the overall sell-out UK car tyre replacement market decreased in 2019. However, the value-rich SUV tyre sub-segment and its all-season tyre sub niche continue to show encouraging signs of growth. So, with this in mind, the March magazine’s SUV tyre feature takes a closer look at the latest trends in this particular market space.
In January GfK’s “panelmarket” identified SUV tyres and all-season tyres as top two growing sub-segments in 2019. Indeed, since all-season tyre sales have shot up 19 per cent in terms of value and 13 per cent up in volume, the UK market is now selling four times as many all-season tyres as winter tyres sold at their peak. Within this, high performance tyres and bigger size tyres, specifically 17-inch and over, are growing fastest (see separate article for further details).
General Tire has announced the European market launch of its latest 4×4 tyre, the Grabber AT. According to the manufacturer, the new tyre has been specifically designed to be rugged and offer high grip and good handling in both on- and off-road applications – all whilst ensuring comfortable driving characteristics. “The aim was to further improve the already very good off-road driving characteristics of the AT2 model, which is highly popular among 4×4 fans, and at the same time meet increased expectations in on-road use" said Pascal Resetta, General Tire’s product manager for 4×4 tyres. In terms of handling on dry roads, the new tyre is said to perform around three per cent better than its predecessor, whilst driving characteristics in the wet have been improved by up to ten per cent.
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