France should turn communist when everything goes wrong. That’s the advice Maurice Taylor doled out during an interview with France Info radio. The contents of the interview have been reported by AFP and provide an interesting further chapter to the tome of outspoken comments the Titan International boss has made in relation to the tyre maker’s failed attempt to acquire the Goodyear agricultural tyre facility in Amiens Nord, France.
The tyres Pirelli will supply to Formula One teams in 2015 were given their first official airing at the final in-season F1 test of the year, which was held straight after the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Although there were no dedicated Pirelli test days and each team concentrated on its own independent programme, all teams tested the new tyres during the two-day test period, having each received ten sets of the new 2015 tyres in place of the existing 2014 allocation. Pirelli, which brought its definitive specification medium, soft and supersoft 2015 tyres to Abu Dhabi, views the new rubber as an evolution of the existing tyre rather than a new departure.
The largest and oldest continuously-held tyre trade fair in Europe is the Reifen show, held every two years in the German city of Essen. And while Reifen has existed for years in relative harmony alongside other regional exhibitions, such as Manchester-based Brityrex, at the start of 2014 a brand new tyre trade event was announced, and this appears to have gotten under the skin of Reifen organiser, Messe Essen. What sets this new show apart is that it will enjoy the support of Reifen’s current main sponsor, and will take place only 45 miles away from Essen – at exactly the same time. Given this clash of dates it seems, to paraphrase a cliché from Western films, that the town isn’t big enough for the two of them: A tyre show showdown looms on the horizon.
The winners of the Hankook Tyre Design Challenge 2014 were announced at the Essen Motor Show in Germany today. This is the fourth time the competition has been held, and this year’s winner is Samir Sadikov, who submitted a ‘Dakar’ racing tyre concept. Runner up was Andreas Hartl with an intelligent “vent tyre” and third place was taken by Lucia Less with the ‘concept winter’ self-transforming snow tyre. These top concepts, which were selected by a jury of design and tyre experts and produced in prototype form by Hankook, will be on display for the rest of the Essen Motor Show’s duration.
As the evenings draw in and the temperatures drop, people not only make preparations for Christmas, but also consider the pros and cons of the last 12 months as well as look forward to next year. When it comes to the tyre business it is no different, I am sure we are all looking forward to our Christmas break – but this is also the season for stock-taking, both metaphorical and literal.
Whatever their impact on recent political manoeuvring, white vans are more popular than ever. Indeed 57 per cent of van drivers choose the colour white, according to the latest data published by Direct Line for Business following a government Freedom of Information request (FoI). According to the data, the number of Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) on our roads has increased by over 700,000 (26 per cent) since 2003 to 3.35 million. There are also more vans on our roads than ever before, with the number of registered LGVs in Britain increasing by over 700,000 (26 per cent) since 2003 to 3.3 million in 2013.
Toyo Tire Europe GmbH is giving the new Proxes R888R track tyre its’ world debut at the Essen Motorshow in Germany, which opened today. The tyre, available during 2015, succeeds the Proxes R888. According to the company, the R888 has been used to win many championships, most recently the 2014 Toyota Sprint Series in the […]
Leading autoparts and workshop equipment distributor, Andrew Page, is reporting a strong close to 2014 with high hopes continuing into 2015. “In the past six months we have seen double digit growth in group sales which is remarkable,” said Simon Mullin, sales & marketing director of Andrew Page, adding: “We achieved record sales for Garage […]
After carrying aero engines and airfreight over 400,000 kilometres across Europe on a set of Semperit M470 truck tyres, County Kildare-based haulier, GK Kelly Transport Limited speaks highly about the value and during extreme winter conditions the tyres offer. With a fleet of 11 trucks, owner, Gary Kelly, completed the 400,000 kilometre himself in just […]
Three dimensions from Hankook’s Ventus S1 evo² line-up will be supplied to Audi for original equipment on its TT and TTS models. Size 225/50R17, 245/45R17 and 245/35R19 tyres, all produced at the tyre maker’s Rácalmás plant in Hungary, will be fitted on the latest version of the Audi models as standard or optional equipment, depending on the engine version.
The Chinese-market edition of auto motor und sport magazine has voted the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 the winner of its latest winter tyre test. According to Nokian Tyres, the publication called the Hakkapeliitta R2 the “king of winter tyres” in the test that appeared in its 10/2014 issue. The Nokian tyre was one of seven brands (others included Continental, Michelin, Dunlop and Goodyear) tested. Auto motor und sport described the Nokian tyre as offering “excellent grip, good track follow ability, easy to get grip when accelerating and no loss of grip when climbing hill straightly (sic).” The overall evaluation of the Hakkapeliitta R2 is that “it makes everything simple”.
RH Claydon’s John Parker gave his first Tyre Wholesalers Group speech as chairman at the group’s annual lunch in November. Parker covered the current state of the market, before summing up current views on part worn tyres and tyre labelling, the latter of which he labelled a “debacle”. Attending the event, Tyres & Accessories reports the contents of Parker’s speech below. Parker contextualised what he had to say with current UK market figures. Saying that the consumer tyre replacement market has “stabilised at about 34m units give or take”, he reserved judgement on whether this represented a corner starting to be turned, while noting that this did not take into account part worn sales.
Without being too dramatic, 2014 was a bit of a disappointment. All the macroeconomic and sector-specific indicators seemed to point to 2014 being the year when the tide turned and when sell-out replacement tyre volumes finally started growing again. And yet the market looks like it is going to be down again when the full-year 2014 figures come in. Despite being a fully mature market, the UK car tyre replacement sector has basically been on varying degrees of a downer for the last six years. Things are not as bad as they were, but they certainly aren’t showing the signs of slow, stable growth they once were. With all this in mind, Tyres & Accessories spoke with GfK automotive account director Kevin Glynn in order to get a handle on what happened this year and what we can expect in 2015.
The National Franchised Dealers Association is holding its annual meeting and dinner for Northern Ireland members today in Belfast. The association, which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, will discuss and analyse the new and used car market both in the UK and Northern Ireland. The meeting will also include a […]
Following his retirement from Bridgestone, ex-Northern European region managing director, John McNaught has founded JCM UK – a new venture focusing on recruitment and management services in the tyre and related industries. According to McNaught, after decades of working 60 – 80-hour weeks, he is simultaneously looking to take the opportunity to cut-back, but also […]