Winter Tyres
Starting 1 January, Farnese Pneumatici S.p.A. has taken over as Italian-market distributor for Sailun Tyres (Europe). The Vetralla-based wholesaler will distribute Sailun’s passenger car, 4×4, winter and light commercial vehicle ranges. Announcing the deal, the wholesaler’s sales and marketing director, Rinaldo Farnese, commented: “Our nationwide network of depots, dealers and sales agents makes us an excellent national fit with Sailun.”
While Britain has been batter by storms this winter, and while the environment minister announced today (6 January) that some 1700 homes have been flooded this season, it has been relatively warm with much of Britain being buffeted by storms and at the same time experiencing high single-digit temperatures. Tragic for some. Inclement for most. But not the kind of weather that traditionally leads to increased winter tyre sales. Nevertheless, the latest data from market analysts GfK suggests that November sales are significantly up on both the previous month and when compared with the same time last year.
When it comes to analysing trends in the comparatively unpredictable UK winter tyre market, November unit sales figures are a key indicator of what is going on in the season. The latest figures aren’t out just yet, but GfK’s Kevin Glynn talked Tyres & Accessories through the thinking behind the leading market research company’s analysis.
The 1 April didn’t fall this week, so survey results shared by Halfords Autocentres – which include the gem that 32 per cent of all people believe kicking a tyre is an adequate means of gauging inflation levels – must be the awful truth. The survey of 1,000 motorists, conducted by Atomic Research on behalf of Halfords Autocentres in September, also revealed that 24 per cent of motorists don’t know how to check if tyre tread depth is above or below the legal limit.
Contract tyre manufacturer, Enjoy Tyre is promoting its Rotalla range and a trio of winter tyre patterns in particular. The S100 M+S, S110 and S210 have all been produced as so-called “skid proof winter tyres”. All three patterns reportedly offer a thin multi-curve tread incorporating significantly deeper grooves in order to maximise performance in both standard and difficult winter road conditions.
The truck market was amongst the first to take steps to reduce costs when the credit crunch bit, but the flipside is that is also amongst the first to respond when conditions improve. And this is likely to have a knock-on effect on the tyre market that supplies it. Continental’s logic certainly fits with their figures. And the fact that marketing is growing again is evident based on the fact that UK and Irish truck and bus tyre replacement markets shot up 14 per cent and 5 per cent respectively in 2013. Now it is worth pointing out that these figures are based on ETRMA data which includes the top five and some other leading manufacturers, but not many of the imported brands that are popular to UK tyre buyers.
Subaru UK is offering customers buying a new Subaru BRZ sports car some early festive cheer with a free set of alloy wheels and cold weather tyres, worth a combined £1095 including fitting.
For the last year Goodyear has teamed up with Lancashire County Council’s highways maintenance department to test a range of winter tyres in some of the coldest and slipperiest conditions found on UK roads. Goodyear’s UltraGrip winter tyres were fitted to the council’s winter gritting vehicles in late 2012 to see if they could improve safety and stability during the vital task of applying salt to the 1,550 miles/2,500 kilometres of roads in Lancashire that are treated within four hours of a freeze being forecast. As a result of the successful trial, Lancashire County Council is extending its relationship with Goodyear. It is now looking to introduce a winter tyre policy for its gritting vehicles to ensure continued service in all conditions.
DAF has become the first truck manufacturer to offer Goodyear Kmax and Fuelmax tyres as standard original equipment. The new tyres will be supplied on the company’s brand new CF and LF models as well as its flagship XF range as of December 2013. The Goodyear Kmax and Fuelmax ranges were introduced in September. Kmax, as the name implies, has been developed for high mileage performance, while not compromising on other important criteria such as fuel efficiency and traction. Likewise the Goodyear Fuelmax range is for the operator who wants optimised fuel efficiency combined with good mileage.
A Wiltshire-based rubber research and development specialist is working with Canadian Tire to develop a tyre that changes colour when winter tyres are needed. The retailer approached Artis, the firm created as a result of the reorganisation of Avon Rubber in 2007, and tasked the Melksham company to develop such a product. It has now produced a concept tyre featuring a sidewall that changes from white to a vivid blue at 7°C.
Since the beginning of November ATS Euromaster has seen sales of winter tyres increase seven-fold, and the company expresses confidence that the number of cold weather fitments will continue rising now the winter has properly begun. It expects total cold weather tyre sales to exceed £10 million in 2013.
If better braking and handling on snow and ice covered roads weren’t reason enough to buy winter tyres, Japanese tyre dealer Autoway Tires presents a nightmarish situation that can be best escaped with the appropriate seasonal rubber. In an ad that is definitely not for the fainthearted – it is preceded by a health warning stating this – Autoway Tires demonstrates the ability of winter tyres to get you out of even the most terrifying scrape.
As temperatures plummet and experts predict a harsh winter for the UK, Volvo Car UK invited ‘Made In Chelsea’ star and Volvo V40 driver Louise Thompson to demonstrate the effectiveness of winter tyres for driving in snow. Two identical Volvo V40 D2 hatchbacks – one on standard tyres and another on winter tyres – were […]
Former F1 driver Stefano Modena has released a set of winter driving tips in his capacity as Bridgestone test driver, and the tyre maker has also released videos of its winter tyre tests on the company’s YouTube channel. Commenting on the tips, Modena – who is test driver at Bridgestone’s European proving ground – said “it is not only about having the right tyres; the driver’s behaviour is also essential in these conditions as he needs to understand and adapt to different winter hazards. It is therefore essential to not only prepare our vehicle, but also ourselves when the weather gets cold.”
Louise Thompson, protagonist in the scripted reality show ‘Made in Chelsea’, was recently recruited by Volvo for an event even more gripping than the E4 series. Volvo Car UK invited her to Tamworth Snowdome to demonstrate the effectiveness of winter tyres for driving in snow. There Thompson was confronted by a pair of Volvo V40 D2 hatchbacks, identical save for the fitment of winter tyres on one and standard summer tyres on the other. Thompson’s challenge was to drive each car up the Tamworth Snowdome’s ski slope to the summit. The results were as expected.
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