Transense Technologies shares recently crashed when the company announced that it could not enter volume production of its tyre pressure sensors until late 2004. However last week saw the shares rise to 26p after Bridgewell Securities assisted the rise by clearing out a big seller at 14p on Thursday. Rumours that Michelin, the tyremaker and existing Transense licensee, is set to inject cash in return for equity are believed to be unfounded.
Beru’s newest business area, Electronics and Sensors, increased its sales over the first nine months of the year by 26.5 per cent to 43.4 million Euros. Sales in the tyre pressure monitoring division increased by 81.1 per cent in the first nine months to 13.4 million Euros, due to rising equipment levels at DaimlerChrysler and the launches of the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne.
In a study of Automotive Emerging Technologies by J.D. Power in the USA, safety-related features were more important to motorists than entertainment or convenience. The most popular safety feature on the motorists’ wish list was a tyre pressure monitoring system, prompted by recent tyre recalls. However, the study found that the price of these features is important – one feature which was high on the list was infra-red night vision, but interest dropped dramatically when consumers were told this would cost $1,800.
Canadian company SmarTire, which makes tyre pressure monitoring systems, is said to be considering moving its stock exchange listing from Nasdaq to London. The reason, according to chief executive Robert Rudman, is a lack of understanding of its business among US investors. SmarTire is bidding for potentially lucrative contracts and Rudman believes the company is undervalued, with shares having fallen to 60 cents.
Pirelli has reached an agreement with SmarTire for the application of tyre pressure monitoring systems. The system will be marketed under the brand X-Pressure and should be commercially available across key European markets. Francesco Gori, Head of Pirelli Tyre Division says, “This agreement opens a new phase in the evolution of Pirelli which integrates the tyre with the vehicle. It may come that the tyre will have dialogues with the vehicle’s control systems.”
Press reports say that Beru is to give up its tyre pressure monitoring system business (TPMS) in the USA. The reason is that the prices offered by the Big 3 car manufacturers were so low as to make the business uneconomic. Beru will now focus its efforts in TPMS on the European market, especially the premium vehicle sector. Beru’s shares fell sharply at the news, but analysts believe that this was an over-reaction and they expect the price to recover much of the loss.
MetaSystem UK has launched the UK’s first tyre pressure monitoring system for motorcycles. It features SmarTire technology. Lightweight wireless sensors are fitted to each rim inside the tyre and, when pressure loss occurs, the rider is alerted by a high visibility LED, which begins to flash if the problem becomes worse.
The RMA in the USA have petitioned the federal government to adopt a reserve air pressure standard for tyre pressure monitoring systems. According to the RMA, vehicle manufacturers set the safe pressure limit at, or just above, the minimum required for safe operation of a fully laden vehicle. The existing 30 per cent drop in pressure allowed by tyre pressure monitoring systems means that fully laden vehicles could be running on tyres inflated to dangerously low levels. The RMA is asking that the suggested tyre pressure setting should be set at 30 per cent above the safe limit, thus allowing 30 percent loss without creating a dangerous underinflation.
Auto safety pressure groups in the USA are suing the Department of Transport for allowing car manufacturers to use inferior tyre monitoring equipment. They claim that despite the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) recognising that direct tyre pressure monitoring is superior to indirect tyre pressure monitoring, the Department was allowing the use of the inferior product on a cost basis. The groups filing the lawsuit include the New York Public Interest Research Group, Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety in New York.
Beru AG has published results for the financial year ending 31st March. Sales topped 300 million Euro for the first time (303.1 m Euro, compared to 276.5 m the previous year). After-tax earnings were up 27.7 per cent at 42.4 million Euro (33.2 m last year). The increase was due mainly to growth in diesel cold-start technology and tyre pressure monitoring systems. This latter product group saw sales rise by nearly 60 per cent to 10.7 million Euro.
Tyre pressure monitoring specialist SmarTire has appointed H. C. Wainwright and Co. Inc. (Boston) as the company’s financial advisor. Wainwright was founded in 1868 and is one of the United States’ oldest private, independent investment banking firms. Additionally, SmarTire has completed issuing 750,000 shares to raise 1.31 million dollars. The funds will be used for debt repayment and working capital.
Each year in spring the schedule of our editorial staff fills with new tyre launches. What is the reasoning behind the development of more and more new tyres? Is it because customers constantly demand new products? Do they really ask for two per cent more grip on wet roads or three per cent more safety on aquaplaning? Hardly. Many surveys show that customers do not care much about their tyres. Sometimes they do not even know the size of the tyre on their car never mind the correct tyre pressure. And although many customers make the decision which tyre to buy after consulting the test results published in the big German magazines, there is no such thing as a “consumer pressure” on the tyre manufacturers to develop new tyres. More often the industry itself maybe is disappointed with the test results and this might then be a motivation create new products. But indisputably, the greatest drive comes from the car manufacturers. They are constantly demanding higher performing tyres for ever higher performing cars. This is the reason why NEUE REIFENZEITUNG visited the research and development departments of several car and tyre manufacturers to get an impression how they are working together, and to follow up the route of a new tyre from the first sketches to the start of the production. Therefore we will focus on these details in an intermittent series starting in this issue with a very general introduction.
Goodyear has named Japanese component specialist, Fujikura, as the preferred supplier of sensor chips for tyre pressure monitoring systems. The chips will be used in sensors developed by Goodyear and Siemens VDO.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has asked the NHTSA to review the requirement for new vehicles to be fitted with tyre pressure monitoring equipment fitted to the wheel and tyre assembly. The OMB states that most TPMS work on data sent by the ABS system, and that the added cost of the new system, may lead manufacturers to stop fitting ABS to vehicles on a cost based argument. The NHTSA proposes that vehicle manufacturers phase in a direct pressure monitoring system, replacing existing indirect systems, over the next four years.
Lear and partner Beru have confirmed the award of a contract to supply Ford with Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems, as reported here earlier in January. The contract is to supply TMPS for a future model of the Ford Explorer. Sales of the Lear Beru TMPS are expected to generate several hundred million dollars as a result of federal regulations requiring TPMS devices to be fitted to every new car sold in the USA.
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