Winter Tyres
August's Tyres & Accessories, which features winter tyres and brakes, is now available online in our e-paper format. If you are a subscriber you can click more right away and begin reading in seconds. Otherwise choose "subscribe" from the main navigation above to find out more about subscriptions.
Bridgestone has announced its dual strategic intentions for its stand at the 65th International Motor Show for Cars in Frankfurt. The manufacturer will divide its stand between a “current zone” with its “Everywhere” brand marketing platform and premium tyre range, and a “future zone”, which will focus on concept tyres, including one made with “100 per cent sustainable material”. The show takes place on 10-22 September, and Bridgestone Europe’s 320m² stand will be located at D03 in Hall 8.
Bridgestone is sponsoring Warwick resident Anna Turney’s bid to become a paralympian, after she enquired about a set of winter tyres. The leading manufacturer agreed to sponsor Turney’s preparations to qualify for the Paralympic Games in Russia next year, where she hopes to represent Great Britain in a number of Alpine Skiing events. She said the partnership would make a huge difference to her chances, with funding going towards an intensive training programme in the run-up to the games in March.
Driving across Europe requires drivers to conform to a number of different local laws and regulations – the legal requirement to fit winter tyres in northern European countries including Germany in cold season conditions will be a familiar one to readers of Tyrepress.com. However a new survey by the ColinAppleyard.com car dealership chain suggests that nearly every British driver would break at least one national motoring regulation. The chain said that many British drivers are not only unaware of speed limits on foreign roads, but also of other vital regulations such as mandatory safety equipment.
Within Europe, Continental generally recommends fitting summer tyres in summer and winter tyres in winter, however the company has made an exception to this in the case of its latest scooter tyre, the ContiMove365. As the numerical designation suggest, this new product is an all-season tyre, and Continental says it has achieved “an astonishing balancing act between summer and winter tyres” with the ContiMove365 and has described the tyre’s tread design as “particularly innovative.”
Nokian sales and profits are down 5.7 and 18.4 per cent respectively for the first half of 2013, the company has reported. However the second quarter has been increasingly strong for the company, with net sales totalling 419.1 million euros 1.3 per cent up on the second quarter of 2012. President and CEO Kim Gran said that the company had been strong in the Nordic countries and Russia particularly during this period, and Nokian expects growing winter tyre demand – playing to the company’s strengths – in these countries and in central Europe during the rest of the year.
Winter and all-season tyres will be the fitment of choice in the coming winter for 3.1 and 1.2 per cent of visitors to Tyrepress.com, a poll conducted on the homepage has revealed. The July Question of the Month reflected results very close to the figures quoted in Tyres & Accessories’ Winter Tyre feature, available in the August magazine soon. Market analysts GfK said that its sell-out data showed winter tyres making up 3.5 per cent of the November 2012 – February 2013 PCR market, while all-season accounted for 2.0 per cent in the period. Other research in the feature suggests all-season tyres are something of a hidden strength in the UK – subscribers can read more by following the links in the full story below. Meanwhile, the August Question of the Month asks whether tyre age should be part of the MOT – go to the Tyrepress.com homepage now to have your say.
For a decade or more the case has been made for the development of winter tyre market in the UK. While there have always been residual levels of winter tyre take-up in the most northerly and mountainous parts of Britain, in the past 10 years or so tyre manufacturers have invested considerable time, effort and resources in making it a relatively normal part of the UK tyre culture. In recent years there has been development in the winter tyre market and it seems clear that this has far from peaked. However, at the same time there is now evidence that sales of all-season tyres have matched and overtaken these. With all this in mind Tyres & Accessories spoke with representatives of Bridgestone, Falken and Hankook and asked what is the right tool for the job in the UK? And is the UK becoming an all-season tyre market?
The UK tyre industry has been taking deliberate steps to develop its winter tyre market for over a decade. As a result winter tyre sales constitute an increasingly important market position (see Related News in the subscriber section of this article). At the same time, the evidence Tyrepress.com has seen suggests all-season tyre sales have been growing at an even faster rate and could even be outperforming winter tyres when measured across complete 12 month periods. Back in May (see Tyres & Accessories May, page 18) we reported on the latest relevant research produced by market analysts GfK, which suggested winter tyre sales were accelerating faster than ever. This month, in keeping with our winter versus all-season theme, we expand on this data to include a number of all-season details and compare it with the conclusion drawn by our other sources.
Toyo has launched a new winter tyre designed to offer “a safer winter driving experience” and offering significant improvements in all key labelling characteristics as well. Massive improvements in both rolling resistance (19 per cent) and tyre wear (37 per cent) are the highlights of what is quite clearly a new generation product.
Cooper Tire Europe describes its seasonal offering as “a focused list of improved winter tyres which provides a better offering for both trade and consumer as soon as the temperature drops”. The range encompasses fitments for all types of cars and 4x4s.
With British winters becoming unpredictable over the last few years, there is no better time for consumers to seriously consider the benefits of fitting winter tyres. In light of this Japanese manufacturer Yokohama offers reasons why its winter and all-season tyres could be what you are looking for.
The brand’s range of winter tyres, known as W.drive, consists of something for everyone, from daily runaround to high performance super-saloon and even light commercials.
Maxxis produces tyres for the range of weather conditions, from the high performance PRO R1 summer tyre to the MAPW performance winter tyre. Despite originating in Taiwan, the company’s research and development department has even created a range of Nordic tyres specifically designed for Scandinavia and its severe weather conditions. These extreme tyres come with advanced tread compounds, high density sipes, and a rectangular shoulder profile that helps expand surface contact and provide extra safety in all conditions, meaning they work differently to other winter tyres due to the severe weather conditions.
In June 2013 almost all tyre segments outperformed the same period last year, according to sales data released by European industry body ETRMA on 16 July. Winter tyres were said to be the exception to this rule, but no further details have yet been given. One perhaps surprising observation is that markets with weaker economies in Southern Europe are actually performing better than the more established DACH or Scandinavian regions “In southern Europe, the consumer cannot delay any longer change of tyres. We seem to have reached the bottom”, ETRMA secretary general, Fazilet Cinaralp commented. However as good as bottoming out may be for future prospects of an upturn, in the short term is said to be bad news for input suppliers.
Having launched its initial collection of winter tyres into the European market just over a year ago, Firenza has added a couple of new patterns to a winter range it calls “competitive”. The Firenza Nu Ice NTS-01 and XT-01 patterns enjoyed a successful introduction into the 2012-2013 winter season.
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