Lassa Tyres has become tyre sponsor for the V1 Challenge Moldova – a series held in a number of cities and run using Volkicars, a race car developed by Turkish racing driver Volkan Işık. And while Lassa’s sponsorship deal is new, the tyre maker can claim a further connection of sorts to the V1 Challenge – the series was developed by Işık, who led the Lassa Rally Team from 2007 to 2010.
Brisa, the company producing Lassa brand tyres in a joint venture between Bridgestone and the Sabanci Group, has announced it will invest US$117.5 million expanding its tyre manufacturing units in Izmit, Turkey. The investment figure exceeds the $110 million of investment that was reported at the start of April.
Automotive and transport consulting group, CLEAR has shown that there was growth of 58 per cent in heavy trailer demand in Eastern Europe in 2011. Thirteen of the fifteen countries covered in the report had growth of over 30 per cent, while three other markets grew by more than 100 per cent. The stand-out nation was Turkey, which completely recovered from the downturn of 2009 to post record trailer demand in 2010 and 2011, making it the largest trailer market in Eastern Europe.
Hot on the heels of the news that growing Korean tyre manufacturer Nexen has secured OE supply to Fiat, the firm has revealed details of its plans to expand in the well-known marques domestic Italian market. With a replacement market potential of over 30 million tyres a year in the passenger car segment, Nexen has suggested Italy is one of its key countries for expansion in Europe.
Apollo Tyres has launched the first of its self-branded Super Zone outlets outside India in Dubai. Designed to provide customers with a feel for the brand and its products, the Apollo Super Zone is located in Al Qiyada, near the Dubai Police General Headquarters and is operated by Middle East Tyres LLC, Apollo Tyres’ business partners. The Apollo Super Zone was inaugurated by chairman of Apollo Tyres, Onkar S Kanwar.
Turkey’s Sabanci Holding intends to invest around US$130 million in its Kordsa cord and yarn operation and $110 million in its Brisa tyre making division during the course of 2012. According to Mehmet Pekarun head of Sabanci’s Tire, Tire Reinforcement and Automotive Group, these two investments are being undertaken as part of an overall $275 million investment programme.
Continental Tyre Group has appointed Louise Franklin as its new Conti360° network manager. Franklin, 28, joins Continental with sales and marketing experience from her previous role as sales and marketing manager for Ardmore Language Schools.
Goodyear has been present in Turkey for half a century now, however the tyre maker hints it may need a little persuasion to maintain its production facilities there. In an interview with Istanbul-based daily Hürriyet, Goodyear’s EMEA Commercial Business Unit vice-president Michel Rzonzef said the cost of tyre production in Turkey is too high despite a weakening of the Turkish lira’s value; this is creating an impediment to new tyre investments.
In its recently released 2011 ‘European Tyre & Rubber Industry’ statistics, the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association states that retreading managed to stage an almost complete recovery in Europe during 2010. Quoting Europool figures, the ETRMA shares that after experiencing a 21 per cent decrease within the region from 2007 to 2009, with unit sales dropping from 5,800,000 to 4,561,000 during this time, in 2010 retread unit sales rose 22.9 per cent year-on-year to 5,605,000. The number of retreads sold within Europe last year is thus only 3.3 per cent lower than 2007 levels, the ETRMA notes.
Figures released by Michelin indicate year-on-year growth for Europe’s original equipment and replacement consumer tyre markets during October 2011, however the month’s results show growth of less than half the year to date amount. According to Michelin, the European (including Russia and Turkey) passenger car and light commercial vehicle original equipment market grew 2.5 per cent in October compared with the same month of 2010. The replacement market grew 3.8 per cent year-on-year during the same period. Year to date, the original equipment grew an average of 7.6 per cent year-on-year between January and October 2011, while the replacement market grew 7.9 per cent.
Pirelli says the challenge for its tyres at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, the penultimate round of this year’s Formula One World Championship, will be in maintaining their performance throughout the operating range of temperatures. The race will be run from dusk to nightfall, meaning that track temperatures tend to fall and then stabilise. This affects pace, degradation and wear. In addition to the manufacturer’s 2011 specification tyres, the Abu Dhabi circuit will act as a proving ground for Pirelli’s latest range of development tyres, echoing last year’s first appearance on a contemporary Formula One car.
Following the news that point S has embarked on a transatlantic expansion plan, the company has revealed that John Cowderoy from point S UK attended the Sema show in Las Vegas too. According to the dealer network Cowderoy flew to the US along with the point S development team to work in partnership with the latest network to join the point S ranks, Independent Tyre Dealer Group (ITDG) one of the largest tyre dealer groups in America.
Tyre dealer network point S has announced its entrance into the American market at an official event on 1 November at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where the company is exhibiting for the first time. US collective The Independent Tire Dealers Group, LLC (ITDG) has signed a partnership with point S, stepping up the group’s international development onto a new continent. Following its entrance into Turkey earlier this month, the network is now present in 21 countries in Europe with over 2,000 depots.
Turkish tyre maker Brisa reports a 36 per cent year-on-year rise in revenues between January and September. In a statement released on October 30, the company disclosed it earned some TL942.5 million (₤329.8 million) during the nine-month period. Net profits rose 35 per cent year-on-year over the same timeframe, to approximately TL47,500 (₤16,600) while EBITA grew 41 per cent to TL114 million (₤39.9 million).
Kwik Fit Group has confirmed its intention to sell Speedy, the group’s French automotive fast-fit company. The announcement confirms earlier reports tyrepress.com published in September that suggested that the business’s suitors included president Jacques Le Foll, his predecessor Giles Chauveau, backed by investment fund Butler Capital, plus automotive centre operator Feu Vert, who previously had its eye on Speedy some four years ago. (Feu Vert is a French workshop and automotive specialty shop chain that operates more than 400 outlets, around three-quarters of which are located in France).
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