Winter Tyres
Under a long-term aftermarket arrangement with Volvo Car Corporation, German tyre wholesaler Reifen Gundlach GmbH will supply complete wheel units fitted with winter tyres within the Central European and Nordic markets. The Pon Holding company will begin shipping the wheels in January 2018.
An open relationship after 22 years of monogamy: German wholesaler Reifen Gundlach has lost exclusive distribution of the GT Radial passenger car tyre range in Germany. Although remaining a close bedfellow of brand owner Giti Tire, from the start of the coming winter season it will share this bed with three other wholesalers.
In addition to releasing a new Sava winter SUV tyre, Goodyear has launched a winter SUV line for its Fulda brand. It says the new Kristall Control SUV is a high-performance tyre has been developed “challenging winter conditions” in mind. The range is currently available in eight sizes, with a further size to come in July.
Giti Tire has launched the GT Radial WinterPro2, available for the 2017 winter season in the UK from exclusive PCR distributor Micheldever Tyre Services. The tyre showed wet performance gains while maintaining snow handling against its previous generation and four main competitors in independent tests by Dekra. Giti states that the tests, which were conducted early this year in Rovaniemi, Finland and Fontange, France, confirm the tyre was up to 10 per cent better in wet braking exercises and 2 per cent ahead in wet handling.
Zeetex has launched its next generation winter tyre range, introducing it first all season tyre for the European market. The brand introduced the tyre patterns: WP1000, WH1000, WH1000 SUV, WQ1000 and WV1000, covering a full winter range of PCR, UHP, SUV, 4×4, and van tyres, as well as the all season car tyre, the ZT4000 4S. The launch event was held on board a luxury cruise from Hamburg to Oslo.
Two years after the brand’s launch at Autopromotec, and after two years of development, Davanti is bringing four new winter patterns to the Bologna show later this month. The Davanti team exhibiting at Autopromotec will also be larger, following the recent appointment of two key team members.
Nexen Tire will present its latest patterns and the All Road Transform concept from its 170sqm booth at Autopromotec in Bologna, Italy (24-28 May 2017).
Giti Tire’s GSW226, the brand’s first specific winter marked tyre, has won plaudits following a nine-day trip to Switzerland and Austria, fitted by one of the North East’s leading coach hire companies. Stockton-on-Tees-based Compass Royston, which undertakes transport for schools and travel operators, and counts Middlesbrough and Hartlepool United Football Clubs among its many sport clients, decided to trial the tyre based on brand feedback from its sister companies, Esk Valley Coaches and Proctors Coaches.
The long-awaited Davanti winter range will soon be with us. When Tyres & Accessories caught up with the Davanti Tyres team at Tyrexpo Asia, they reported that final testing had been successfully concluded and volume production was scheduled to commence in June. After two years of development, four winter patterns – PCR, UHP, SUV and van – are now ready, with a total of 52 sizes to be released in 2017.
Hankook will showcase its advanced high-performance, environment-friendly and safe transportation product line-ups in the car and bus and truck sectors at Autopromotec in Bologna, Italy (24-28 May). Some highlights of Hankook’s booth (Hall 20, A74) will be the new all-season trailer tyre, SmartFlex TH31; two winter tyres, Hankook Winter i*cept evo² and Hankook Winter i*cept RS²; the four season Hankook Kinergy 4S; and the Laufenn tyre brand launched on the European market in 2015.
Michelin’s popular – some would even say trend-setting – CrossClimate tyre is now available to a wide range of SUVs and 4x4s.
The Michelin CrossClimate was the world’s first summer tyre to achieve the 3PMSF winter accreditation, and it has won a string of awards since its launch.
With a decisive snip, more than a year’s work was officially complete. Four representatives from Hankook Tire’s global and European operations, suitably rugged up for the occasion, were on hand to open a facility that extends the tyre maker’s aim of self-contained development and manufacture of tyres for European markets. The inauguration of the ‘Technotrac’ facility gives Hankook Tire a permanent home alongside one of the world’s best-known winter test grounds, something that Ho-Youl Pae is very proud of.
Kraiburg Austria has subjected seven more winter patterns to a 3PMSF test in order to enhance the competitiveness of truck retreads. Now the “3PMSF” (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake) tyre symbol is linked under ECE-109 R Annex 10 to retreads, this measurement is said to say “far more than the classic “M+S” based on classifications devised by the manufacturers” about a retread’s winter performance.
The Pirelli brand now has more than 650 original equipment homologations for winter tyres under its belt. In Europe alone, Pirelli Tyre claims that around a quarter of all premium and prestige segment car models are fitted with its winter tyres.
Dmack has launched its latest tyre for the FIA World Rally Championship on the second round of the 2017 series, Rally Sweden. The new studded winter tyre delivered competitive times on one of the most specialist events for tyre manufacturers. The Carlisle-based brand said the tyre has built on “both success and technical information gathered from previous seasons” in producing the DMG-ICE2 tyre. The Dmack crew of Welshman Elfyn Evans and co-driver Daniel Barritt finished sixth, equalling their best finish in Sweden.
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