Yokohama Rubber has expressed its pride in two awards its UK sales and marketing subsidiary, Yokohama H.P.T. Ltd. (YHPT), has gained this year – the Tyre Manufacturer of the Year award presented by TyreSafe in July and the Industry Marketing Campaign of the Year award gained at the 2017 NTDA Tyre Industry Awards ceremony in October.
Yokohama will host the Premier League trophy on its Automechanika Birmingham stand (stand 20D80, Birmingham NEC) as part of its continuing shirt sponsorship of 2016/17 champions Chelsea FC. Visitors to the show on Tuesday 6 June and Wednesday 7 June will have the opportunity to have their photo taken alongside the official Premier League trophy, which appears courtesy of the tyre manufacturer’s partnership with the club.
Announced to mark the 20th anniversary of the manufacturer’s 4×4 tyre brand in 2016, the new Yokohama all-terrain Geolandar A/T G015 has made its first appearance in the UK. Available in sizes ranging from 15–20 inches, the G015 was developed for the latest generation of SUVs, featuring the three peak snowflake mark. Yokohama says it is the flagship tyre in its Geolandar range due a number of technical innovations, which deliver better wear performance, better traction and improved ride comfort.
Yokohama HPT says it has stocked one of its most comprehensive winter tyre ranges ever ahead of a season that weather forecasters predict will be the coldest UK winter for 35 years. Available for next day delivery from its central UK distribution centre, the range is suited for drivers of all cars and light commercial vehicles, and is targeted in particular at those who need to guarantee their mobility in the harshest of conditions, such as emergency services, utility companies, community nurses and doctors.
Yokohama has added a further initiative to its shirt sponsorship link with Chelsea FC; the manufacturer is fitting its tyre to the team bus. Chelsea will roll into Watford FC’s Vicarage Road ground for the squad’s first away fixture of the 2016/17 season on Yokohama 104ZR coach and bus tyres. The company has also fitted its high-performance, premium car tyres to a number of the players’ own cars.
The UK distributor for Yokohama tyres, YHPT, has said it is encouraged by the pace shown by Next Big Step runner Aaron McClure in this year’s BTRDA rally series. A graduate of the Formula 1000 Junior championship and competing as part of a ‘ladder of opportunity’ which is supported at all levels by Yokohama, McClure demonstrated excellent pace in his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer rally car on numerous occasions throughout the season.
Top Gear Live is dead; long live Clarkson, Hammond and May Live! The deal struck this week following Jeremy Clarkson’s ignominious departure from Top Gear to salvage the extensive 2015 Top Gear Live schedule has underlined the ending of Clarkson’s association with the brand and the BBC. While a decision on the fate of the programme – and presenters Richard Hammond and James May – remains in discussions, the deal guarantees ticket holders to see most of the show for which they bought tickets. But are the show’s principle corporate supporters happy with the new arrangement?
Now that Jeremy Clarkson must be considered an ex-Top Gear presenter, the future of the planned Top Gear Live arena tour also been called into question. Four shows due to take place in Norway were postponed with replacement dates yet to be announced while the BBC’s investigation into Clarkson’s behaviour was completed. Having reported its findings that Clarkson made “an unprovoked physical and verbal attack” on his producer on 25 March, it appears the shows, and the rest of the ambitious Top Gear Live arena tour, remain in jeopardy – a potential marketing headache for the UK tour’s title sponsor Gocompare, and tyre supplier, Yokohama.
Yokohama has signed a deal to become the official tyre supplier for the 2015 Top Gear Live UK Tour. Yokohama tyres will be used on all vehicles featured during the five-venue tour. Commenting, Yokohama HPT Ltd managing director David Seward said: “I am delighted that Yokohama has been confirmed as official tyre supplier for the 2015 Top Gear Live UK Tour. The series of events really brings the television series to life and I am sure that our products will deliver the performance that the drivers require on every level.”
Yokohama HPT is to continue its ongoing partnership with League 1 giant-killers (and the company’s local team) MK Dons. If last night’s 4-0 victory over Manchester United (26 August 2016, Capital One Cup) is anything to go by, Yokohama will be celebrating its investment as money well spent.
Yokohama has announced the upcoming launch of its newest generation of winter tyres in the UK. The W.drive V905 is being introduced this year in a range of 15-17” sizes, and the UK distributor, Yokohama HPT, is expecting to take delivery of the first available sizes ready for the start of the 2014/15 winter season.
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