Chinese tyre manufacturers are shifting away from the production of truck tyres in favour of passenger car product, according to local news sources and Bloomberg. Even with this shift, however, China’s net rubber consumption will remain flat for 2013, good news for tyre pricing worldwide.
Philip Duffy and David Whitehouse, both of global financial advisory and investment banking firm Duff & Phelps and Joint Administrators of Preston based Bosal (U.K.) Limited, have announced the sale of certain assets of the Company which relates to sales and marketing activities to Bosal International N.V. and Bosal Tobo B.V.
Admiral research has revealed two thirds of motorists eat when behind the wheel despite most drivers thinking it's dangerous and should be illegal. Almost one in six (15 per cent) motorists have also crashed or had a near miss as a result of in-car eating.
The survey of 2,000 motorists by Admiral has shown that while two thirds of drivers have eaten when driving, for one in twelve it's commonplace with them doing so between five and ten times a week.
As winter drags on, the subject of potholes has been much in the news and a recent report from UK online motoring magazine Motortrades Insight makes gloomy reading – it reports that potholes are potentially damaging the finances of Britain’s hard-working, cash-strapped drivers – motorists who are being forced into balancing their finances to pay for additional car maintenance and repairs. Worse still is the potential hazard of trying to avoid them with drivers literally dicing with death on a daily basis.
A recent survey revealed two thirds of motorists have found themselves in a dangerous situation – swerving to avoid a pothole. Drivers in the West Midlands have been worst hit with 76 per cent swerving or braking suddenly to avoid the thousands of crumbling roads with estimates of 2.2 million potholes.
Figures for CV registrations in Europe, released by ACEA, show that they fell by 13.3 per cent in February and were down -11.9 per cent over the first two months, year on year. February was the fourteenth consecutive month that demand for commercial vehicles in the EU was down.
In addition to unveiling its Alphatread retread range at the Commercial Vehicle Show, Hankook will also host the world premiere of its latest truck tyre solution – one it says will “fill the gap between medium and long haul.” Other CV Show highlights for Hankook include a stand visit from the Northampton Saints Rugby Club and a competition to win VIP tickets to the Europa League Semi Final.
Metzeler’s domination of the tyre category in German motorcycling magazine Motorrad’s Best Brand awards continues this year. The tyre maker has taken the category award on four of the eight occasions it has been contested; this year Metzeler gained the support of 64.8 per cent of the 30,245 Motorrad readers who participated in voting for the awards.
The organiser of Tyrexpo Asia 2013 recorded a “substantial increase in visitors” to this year’s Singapore show. Exactly 4,355 individual visitors from 97 countries attended the trade exhibition held at the Singapore Expo Centre between 19 and 21 March, an increase of 22.5 per cent in comparison to the 2011 show’s prior record. Exhibitor numbers at the 2013 show were 64 per cent higher than two years ago, with 250 suppliers displaying their products at Tyrexpo Asia 2013.
The North American premium touring tyre segment is the stated target for Nokian’s newest all-season tyre, the Nokian WR G3. The Finnish manufacturer says the combination of its “solid winter experience” plus the use of “environmentally friendly premium products” such as nanotechnology and canola oil in the tyre “guarantee their reliable functionality in the typically varying weather conditions of North America.”
Goodyear has announced that construction work on the first of its new generation of airships has begun. The Zeppelin LZ N07-101 airship is being built by Germany’s ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik and will be assembled at Goodyear’s Wingfoot Lake Hangar near Akron, Ohio. LZ N07-101 and other craft built by Zeppelin will ultimately replace Goodyear’s fleet of blimps.
Aeolus has confirmed its involvement with the CV Show in April, where it will debut with its exclusive UK distributor, Kings Road Tyres (KRT). According to the company, the show will provide an important opportunity to build wider brand awareness for Aeolus, which has been manufacturing commercial vehicle tyres since 1965.
A day after our coverage of European rules relating to the introduction of ABS on two-wheel vehicles. Continental AG has released details of its one channel ABS for motorcycles.
According to ADAC Accident Research, around a fifth of all motorcycle accidents could have been prevented if the bike had been fitted with an anti-lock braking system (ABS). To improve the active safety of motorcycles, Continental is expanding its range of electronic braking systems by introducing an one-channel ABS for smaller motorcycle and scooters. Based on its cars technology it was developed especially for cost-sensitive markets such as Asia, where the wheelers must be equipped only with a hydraulic brake on the front wheel.
The history of the NMO goes back to the Magna Carta, but more recently it was known as the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML). In 2006, NWML became responsible for the enforcement of RoHS Regulations (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2008) in the UK. On the 28 June 2007 NWML (more recently renamed the National Measurement Office) became part of the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
The National Measurement Office (NMO) has been named as the enforcement body of the European tyre labelling legislation that was implemented across the continent in November 2012. The NMO’s remit covers the effective implementation of tyre labelling in the UK and includes scope for retail checks as well as monitoring the authenticity and accuracy of the labels themselves. News of the appointment bridges the gap between the legislation put in place and the industry take steps to adapt to it. Now however, there is reason for renewed positivity. Not only because there are people to take responsibility for the deployment of the law, but because we will hopefully now be able to begin gauging the real effects of the legislation on how tyres are bought and sold.
Falken Tyres reports that it will be the first tyre company to explore the advertising potential of two digital screens on the M5 and M6 motorways. According to the company, the adverts will be used to reach out to motorists, especially those making Easter holiday journeys.
The boards display adverts on both the North and South sides, rotating a 15 second Falken advert every minute for 24 hours a day. The adverts will be displayed for 14 days which will result in a total of 40,320 Falken adverts being projected to passing motorists.
