Suzuki has joined the growing ranks of tyre dealers and more recently car dealerships offering a winter tyre programme. Michael-Le Flay, Suzuki’s aftersales marketing manager, explained: "Many people are unaware of the fact that when temperatures drop below 7 degrees Celsius, the rubber in standard tyres becomes harder and less flexible, which affects braking and cornering performance.
The Department for Transport (DfT) revealed yesterday that illegal, defective and under-inflated tyres were responsible for more than 1,210 road casualties in Great Britain during 2010. The latest Road Casualties in Great Britain report shows that 18 motorists were killed during the year from defective tyres, bringing the number of tyre related deaths on UK roads in the last five years to 164.
Independent tyre dealers network Point S has more than 1,950 locations in 20 countries, and continues to pursue its international development programme with the announcement that it has entered the Turkish market. The Master Franchise agreement between Point S, represented by its managing directors Jürgen Benz and Christophe Rollet, and Senturkler Holding, represented by co-owner and vice-chairman Senturk Mehmet, was signed in June. The first flagship store was officially opened on 21 September in presence of Senturkler and Point S representatives as well as numerous local politicians, journalists and manufacturers.
…or are we about to witness a real dip in tyre markets? While the massive drops in OE demand of a few years ago appear to have turned a corner, and while tyre manufacturers the world over are steadily ramping up production to pre-recession levels, some are questioning whether or not replacement markets have really felt the full force of the recession. Could 2011 be shaping up to be worse than 2008/2009?
Yesterday (7 September, 2011) marked the first TyreSafe quarterly industry briefing, during which chairman Stuart Jackson and a range of guest speakers spoke of the organisation’s past and future work in promoting tyre safety in the UK. In preparation for this October’s tyre safety month, TyreSafe has launched its new website, www.tyresafe.org – introduced by Jackson during the briefing – which includes a cleaner layout, easier navigation, and access to a range of media resources, such as new animated videos of the crash test dummy family the McIntyres explaining how motorists can examine tyres at home.
Following two harsh UK winters, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is predicting a further move towards cold weather tyres this year, and a continued increase in the related sales of tyres designed to perform at optimum level at temperatures of less than 7 degrees Celsius. Cooper reports that it is working closely with tyre dealers to be ready for the surge in demand and will extend production of certain tyre lines to help meet these needs.
Many in the industry will be familiar with the work of GfK within the tyre market, producing regular reports on market size, market shares and trends, among other information. According to the old saying, "knowledge is power" and GfK (which stands for 'Growth from Knowledge') describes itself as 'a knowledge provider' and has been collecting, processing and analysing data on various markets since its foundation in 1937.
Taiwanese manufacturer Federal has announced that it has made the first shipment of its Himalaya WS2 winter tyre to Canada. The tyre, available in six sizes – 175/65R15, 195/65R15, 215/60R16, 205/55R16, 215/65R16 and 215/45R17 – is manufactured at its Jiang Xi Tires (JFT) plant in China. The shipment was purchased in March by Vancouver’s Uniwell International Enterprises Corp., and will be arriving at its warehouse in Canada on schedule by the end of July, according to Federal’s Global Sales Division director, Henry Lin: “We are very happy as the major trading company Uniwell International Enterprises Corp has made significant contribution to the wintry development.
Falken Tyres recently took a group of top Micheldever tyre dealers to the world renowned Nurburgring 24 hour race, an event that is followed by hundreds of thousands around the world. Micheldever’s guests enjoyed VIP hospitality as they were entertained in the Mercedes Benz suite over the weekend by Falken.
Following its victory in the German PS motorcycle sports magazine tyre tests on 5 May, Bridgestone’s Battlax BT-016 Pro Hypersport is back on the podium again, singled out by Germany’s Motorrad magazine as the “best motorcycle sports tyre in the rain” and joint overall winner of its 2011 sports tyre test. Motorrad tested two 2011 newcomers, including the redesigned Battlax BT-016 Pro, against the best tyres from 2010 in a comparative evaluation of 180/55 tyres on a Honda CBR 600RR on the race circuit, open road and wet track.
Westlake Tyres has announced that it will sponsor the NTDA’s annual golf day, which will be held on 15 September at the Oxfordshire Golf Club. The brand’s sponsorship will make it the title sponsor of the day. “Westlake Tyres strongly believe that the NTDA is doing a great job of promoting the interests of tyre retailers to a higher professional standard and that is why it is an enormous pleasure sponsoring their Golf Day event. We really look forward to strengthening our partnership with this particular trade association in the UK,” stated Jorge Crespo, European general manager of Eskay Tyres.
York Tyre Sales has become the first independent tyre retailer to join the ranks of TyreSafe as an associate member, and the safety organisation hopes the recently-opened business will be just the first of many to come on board and participate in the wide range of campaigns TyreSafe operates.
Following several years of having what it calls a ‘marginal presence’, Marangoni Retreading Systems has announced its return to the Dutch and Belgian markets. This Benelux comeback comes courtesy of a partnership with tyre reseller and fast-fit chain Profile Tyrecenter. Marangoni states it will now expand its business in co-operation with what is the largest local tyre fitting network in these two markets; under the agreement, Profile Tyrecenter takes on exclusive management of the Ringtread brand in the Benelux. The Ringtread tyres distributed there will be manufactured by Dutch retreader Frapa, a founding Profile Tyrecenter member.
This month, many of those born in June 1946 are gearing up to receive their gold watch and embark on retired life. Not so Tyres & Accessories. Sixty-five years after its birth as a “new journal for a new age,” the UK’s magazine for the tyre and wheel industries continues going from strength to strength and takes pleasure in bringing the latest news and information to an ever-evolving industry.
A recent HiQ survey suggests that negative perceptions of the fast-fit industry amongst women continue to linger after independent research revealed that while 70 per cent of women believe they receive a dishonest and untrustworthy experience when they visit a garage. The research, commissioned by HiQ, also disclosed that 24.3 per cent of women charge the men in their lives with taking their car in for new tyres because they found the whole so unpleasant. However it is worth pointing out that the level of trust is not much higher amongst members of the more traditionally dominant sex: 62 per cent of men feel the same way. What’s more, 53 per cent of men surveyed “do not trust garages and tyre dealers for advice, and would rather research online instead”. HiQ says that five female marketing experts are attempting to change these perceptions by bringing the fast fit industry in line with high street shopping experiences.
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