Winter Tyres
Leeds City Council fitted GT Radial’s Champiro WinterPro cold weather tyres to its Community Meals fleet this winter on the recommendation of its tyre partner, Earthmover Tyres. Thanks to the addition of seasonal rubber, the Council said its 16 Citroen Berlingos delivered more than 420 meals safely every day across the city, regardless of the inclement weather.
With the recent launch of the ST:01 Neverending Energy line, Pirelli says its ‘01’ commercial vehicle tyre range is now complete. The 01 portfolio now covers the ‘R’ segment (medium to long range), ‘W’ (winter tyres), ‘H’ (long range) and ‘G’ (for mixed road and construction site use).
Anyone aware of the continued economic fug across the continent might have expected the news that UK and Europe-wide 4×4/SUV tyre markets were depressed in 2012; what you may not have so readily expected was that the macro-trend of increasing sales of V, W, X and Y speed rated SUV tyres would have continued to grow. Yet the latest data from UK market researcher GfK, read in the context of Europool and ETRMA figures, shows that this is exactly what happened during the last year, with more powerful road oriented models continuing to prove popular.
After a double-dip recession in the UK last year and with widespread financial turmoil across Europe, no-one is denying that these are tough times for garages, autocentres and tyre specialists. And in tough times you need options. So this month we are taking a look at the role that non-tyre services play in the tyre business and asking what they offer garages. For the purposes of this feature we are lumping together everything that is not a tyre and calling it all “ancillary garage services”. Everything that’s not a tyre is probably a clearer definition, but this offers a clear category for all the products that aren’t our beloved round black circles.
Upon announcing the outcome of its 2013 summer tyre test, held in partnership with consumer foundation Stiftung Warentest, German motorists’ organisation ADAC noted that this latest test marks the 40th anniversary of its first tyre test. In 1973 – an “exciting time” for tyres due to the replacement of cross-ply with radial models – the ADAC used an Opel Rekord 1900 as a test vehicle to evaluate 25 tyres.
Nokian Tyres has introduced a new product into its Noktop range of retreading materials. The Finnish manufacturer describes the new Noktop 86 traction tread as offering “never before seen reliability for demanding earthmoving applications.” Elaborating on this bold statement, Nokian says the rubber compound used in the Noktop 86 provides “excellent puncture and cut protection under demanding conditions in mines and gravel pits where quarried rock presents an ever-challenging working environment.”
For those of you who missed evo’s recent winter tyre test, Continental wishes to point out that its ContiWinterContact TS850 came out on top. Eight size 205/55R16 winter and all-season tyres – and one Continental summer tyre – were jointly evaluated by evo tester John Barker and testers from Auto Express. Evo found the TS850 to be “responsive, stable and predictable in all scenarios” and said “winter tyres come no more capable or reassuring that this.”
Upon reporting increased sales and profit in 2012, Finland’s Nokian Tyres shared its projection for replacement market growth this year in its main markets. Nokian anticipates demand for replacement passenger car tyres will grow one to two per cent in Europe, two per cent in Nordic countries and two to five per cent in Russia. Admittedly, the tyre maker concedes the pricing environment for all tyre categories will be “challenging” this year, although margins will be supported by a ten per cent year-on-year easing in raw material costs in the first quarter of 2013 and a four per cent easing over the entire year. Although Nokian expects to see growth in net sales and operating profit in 2013, it believes that first quarter performance will be “clearly weaker” than in 2012.
As the successor to a multi-test winning winter product, Nokian believes its new Hakkapeliitta R2 non-studded winter tyre exemplifies the company’s latest winter tyre innovations. Chief among these is the Nokian Cryo Crystal Concept compound, which has cystal-esque particles designed to “grab the icy driving surface” in order to improve grip. The cryo-silane based winter silica compound works across a wide temperature range, achieving better winter surface grip and improved wear resistance. It is also optimised for reduced rolling resistance.
During 2012 Continental sold some 20.1 million passenger car, 4×4 and van winter tyres in the European replacement tyre market, the company reports. This figure is approximately 300,000 units above what it sold in 2011 and was achieved despite a ten per cent drop in overall market demand. Altogether the company sold around 21.4 million winter tyres globally last year.
New research commissioned by Green Flag Breakdown reveals Brits have missed 51.4 million working hours in the last week as a result of the poor weather conditions. Over 8.5 million (18 per cent) British adults have been unable to work their contracted hours because of the adverse weather, costing employers an estimated £318 million.
Upon arriving in Canada’s Yukon Territory for the 2013 Fulda Challenge, veterans of last year’s event scoffed at the mild weather awaiting them. For goodness sake, the thermometer gave a reading of only minus 20°C – a walk in the park in comparison to 2012, when the mercury sank to a numbing minus 46°C. Yet over the coming days these thoughts were banished as heavy snowfalls delivered driving conditions more challenging than any seen during the Challenge’s 14-year history. In the end, the 2013 Fulda Challenge proved to be not just a test of athletic mettle, rather also a showcase of the conditions in which Fulda winter tyres come into their own.
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Over the last five days Kwik Fit has sold more than five times the number of winter tyres than the same time last week, as drivers have taken heed of severe weather warnings and made advance preparations.
The traditionally upbeat tone of Delticom’s financial reporting was slightly muted upon release of the company’s 2012 preliminary full-year figures on 23 January. The German-based online tyre retailer described 2012 as a “challenging year” and the market environment as “difficult.” Full-year revenues amounted to 456.4 million euros, a 4.9 per cent decrease on 2011.
It has been quite a month for the forecasters. Not the weather forecasters mind you – although the winter weather that has sprinkled the UK and parts of Europe with a fresh dusting of snow will no doubt have kept them busy too – but rather the market forecasters. With ETRMA reporting that tyre unit sales fell off a cliff last year, Conti saying the market is likely to bottom out in 2013 and with other analysts predicting 2013 will be a good year for tyre retailers, what is on the horizon for the next 12 months?
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