Winter Tyres
While winter conditions in many of our neighbouring European countries are much more severe than here in the UK, Hankook representatives point out that some of these boast lower accident rates. Why? A major factor in this is down to tyre choice. Hankook therefore believes it is essential that “we educate our customers on winter tyres and contribute towards a reduction in motoring accidents during winter.”
Toyo Tires reports that its range of winter tyres are specifically designed to tackle even the most unpredictable of wintry driving condition. As average temperatures fall and road surfaces become more hazardous, Toyo Tires representatives say the firm’s winter range will “increase driver’s safety during the winter months and you don’t need snow to appreciate the spectacular benefits of Toyo Tires.” According to the company, their winter tyres cope with slush, ice, mud and even your average December downpour and will prove their worth in keeping drivers on the move, whatever the conditions. Featuring computer-optimised tread designs, Toyo Tires range of winter tyres come in a wide variety of sizes to suit all vehicles, from small compact cars to ultra high performance models to 4×4’s and SUV’s.
Ambulances across the Midlands will be driven on cold weather tyres this winter to enable crews to reach patients more safely. Both the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) and East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) will use Michelin’s Agilis Alpin and Alpin 4 ranges across their fleets – a total 530 ambulances and 308 rapid response cars. The decision comes after the neighbouring trusts’ fleet managers compared standard tyres with cold weather tyres at a test day at the MIRA track in Warwickshire in June.
Nokian Tyres styles itself as “the only tyre manufacturer in the world that focuses on products and services that facilitate safe transportation in Nordic conditions”, and its 2011 range reflects the company's expertise in the area, developed in variable Central European conditions. The manufacturer says its WR D3 and WR A3 tyres are “designed for different vehicles and drivers but for any winter weather”. The company calls its tyres “environmentally friendly premium products” that feature nanotechnology and canola oil, which helps to improve their reliability in the winter conditions of Central Europe. Nordic Tyres (UK) usually imports Nokian Industrial, Forestry and Agriculture, though increased demand in the last UK winter led to its decision to stock passenger car winter patterns. The UK distributor says it suggests “early contact… in order to meet expected demand before winter really bites”.
Kumho clearly believes the “wake-up calls” of the last two UK winters will drive demand for a wider range of winter tyres in the market, as it has announced it will supply six patterns for the 2011-2012 season through its distributor Micheldever Tyre Services. With another harsh winter on the horizon, Kumho expects demand for cold weather tyres to top the new heights seen in the past two years, listing tyres suitable for fitment on the smallest cars up to light commercial vehicles.
In this country the majority of motorists are not in the habit of fitting winter tyres at the end of autumn as they do in most other Northern European countries. A TyreSafe survey conducted last year showed that while 54 per cent of UK drivers felt that they were less safe when driving in winter, only a tiny fraction of them – just 3 per cent – actually took the precaution of fitting winter tyres. Admittedly, winter tyres are recommended, if not compulsory by law, across much of the continent – but the fact that they are not legally required here should not lead consumers to think they’re any less necessary – or any less valuable as a contribution to road safety.
Delticom’s mytyres.co.uk website has suggested businesses can help staff, and secure reliable service throughout the winter, by fitting winter tyres. The website exemplifies the effect of fitting winter tyres from a major online supermarket grocery delivery service. Having fitted all its delivery van fleet with winter tyres the company told mytyres.co.uk that they had allowed its drivers to go to places and do things others cannot because of the conditions, in addition to improving its drivers’ safety, and that of other road users, with the additional grip and stability in snow or icy conditions achieved.
ATS Euromaster has doubled its investment in cold weather tyres to more than £6 million for winter 2011/2012, with orders spread across a mix of premium, mid-range and budget brands. As a result the company reports that it will be stocking a range of sizes suitable for most makes of car and van. Last year the company spent around £3 million on winter tyre stocks.
Chris Hufflett, group operations director of ATS Euromaster, told Tyres & Accessories: “Last year the UK had its first real taste of cold weather tyres and they quickly became ‘hot ticket’ items – we could have sold our stock several times over. Long range forecasts for this winter point towards it being the fourth bad winter in succession. If this rings true, it will drive a very strong market for cold weather tyre sales across the board.
Tyre manufacturer Techking reports that the first batch of its Ice King winter tyres with studs comes out at the end of July. The product is designed for use in north Europe, Russia and Canada markets, where snow is heavy. According to the company, the pattern was designed based on the feedback from the local partners and some market study by Effiplus engineers.
The most recent version of ‘De Nieuwe Band’ (The New Tyre), a list of tyres commissioned by the Dutch Government to highlight winter tyres that are safe, fuel efficient and low noise, found that the Maxxis MA-PW was alone among the 45 tyres tested to already meet forthcoming EU standards for wet grip, rolling resistance co-efficient and rolling sound emission.
On July 29 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg introduced a regulation making the use of winter tyres compulsory in certain weather conditions. As of October 1, 2012, cars will be required to have M+S marked tyres fitted when frost, ice, slush or packed snow is present; trucks, buses and other heavy vehicles will be required to have M+S tyres fitted to drive axles.
Nokian’s Vianor fast-fit network entered southern Europe on July 27 with the opening of an outlet in Montebelluna, Italy. This first Vianor outlet in the region is also the 800th centre the Finnish manufacturer has launched since the first opened for business more than a decade ago.
During a recent drifting event in The Netherlands, Frank van Leeuwen, managing director of Euro-Tyre, spoke about the relationship between his company and Infinity Tyres, their future together, and their combined approach to European legislation.
On July 25 Pirelli, Russian Technologies and Sibur Holding signed an agreement to transfer the former Amtel-Vredestein Kirov passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre plant to the joint venture formed by Pirelli and Russian Technologies on November 26, 2010. The transfer is to take place before November 2011; the agreement signed on July 25 also entails the transfer of further assets that should lift the joint-venture’s production capacity from seven million units – the Kirov plant’s capacity – to a total of 11 million units by 2014. The transfer of all these assets will take place in exchange for a total consideration of 222 million euros, divided on a pro-quota basis between the partners, with a payment of 55 million euros in 2011 and 167 million euros in 2012.
In conjunction with the Russia-Germany summit held in Hannover on July 18 and 19, Continental’s CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart and the governor of the Kaluga region in Russia, Anatoly Artamonov, signed a memorandum of understanding on the new passenger tyre plant Continental is to build in Kaluga. The tyre maker intends to invest some 220 million euros in the Kaluga factory; construction will get underway before the end of the year and the factory is expected to be ready for production in late 2013. The Russian government has pledged to support the new site.
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