Garage staff are key workers, says Protyre
Protyre confirms that all its centres are operational at this point in time, adding that the company is monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic daily and will respond accordingly to government advice.
Protyre confirms that all its centres are operational at this point in time, adding that the company is monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic daily and will respond accordingly to government advice.
Michelin shares that the Movin’On team has cancelled this year’s World Summit on Sustainable Mobility, which was due to be held in Montreal on 3, 4 and 5 June 2020.
There will of course be 12 months next year, but you won’t be able to check that on a Pirelli Calendar. Pirelli has decided to cancel production and the launch of the 2021 Calendar, and instead ‘The Cal’ project will, in the context of other initiatives already undertaken by the company, donate 100,000 euros to the fight against and research into the coronavirus.
After a period of sweeping announcements by European automakers that they are halting production at European plants for several weeks, Calum MacRae, automotive analyst at GlobalData, has quantified potential effects on industry forecasting.
Several states across India have announced lockdowns in order to better deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, and as a result Apollo Tyres Ltd. has halted operations at its plants in Kalamassery & Perambra (Kerala), Limda (Gujarat) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu) until 31 March. In addition, employees in the company’s offices have been instructed to work from home.
Even emergency vehicles need breakdown assistance, servicing and tyres, and this is one main reason why the government has authorised garages and fast-fits to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. ATS Euromaster confirms that most of its service centres remain open following the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday, however they ask customers for understanding should prearranged jobs be postponed in order to prioritise emergency fleet work.
Transport engineering and environmental consultancy Ricardo states that its investment in implementing a ‘digital first’ strategy has helped it to continue business as usual while minimising health risk in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lock-down across Asia, Europe and North America. The company said it is committed to ensuring that its service to its global customer base continues with the minimum possible interruption, while prioritising the health, safety and well-being of employees, customers and other commercial partners.
The Covid-19 lockdown prompts the question of whether getting an MOT test is permitted as a reason to leave the house. As Tyrepress has reported, garages are allowed to stay open under the terms of the lockdown, so does it follow that MOTs will continue to be required? The latest information is that MOTs for the vast majority “lorries, busses, and trailers” are currently suspended (see below or click here for more details), but this could be extended to private passenger vehicles as the situation develops. The Department for Transport states that it is keeping MOT testing for cars, motorcycles and light vans under review. [UPDATE (25/03/2020): the government has announced that cars, motorcycles and vans will receive an exemption from Monday 30 March 2020. Click here for further details.]
Following the news that everyone in the UK should stay at home and therefore the country has entered a de facto lockdown, the government has published exceptions to that rule of key businesses include garages. In light of this and the closure of schools the week before, the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) has reaffirmed the association’s support of tyre centres.
Senior management at Indian tyre manufacturer JK Tyre will take a 25 per cent pay cut during the Covid-19 outbreak. Chairman and managing director Raghupati Singhania stated that the board was taking the cut “in a show of solidarity in this critical time,” noting the “unprecedented” impact of the virus on sales and profitability.
Hankook Tire concedes that its response to last year’s “extremely challenging” business environment and the rapidly-changing trends influencing the tyre industry was “not fully sufficient” to combat downward pressure upon its business. Hyun Shick Cho, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Hankook Technology Group, has addressed this issue in a letter to shareholders, discussing means of responding preemptively to these changing trends.
In measures aimed at enhancing “shareholder-friendly management”, Hankook Tire intends to buy back around KRW 50 billion (£34 million) of its shares over the coming six months and will also “sharply expand” the size of its dividends. In addition, the tyre maker will form a support group for external directors and implement an electronic voting system.
Kwik Fit says it is carefully monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak, and at present its centres are open for business as usual “where possible”. It adds that the company’s “overriding priority” is the health and well-bring of its staff and customers.
Yesterday Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined strict stay-at-home measures for the whole of the UK. These effectively amount to a country-wide lockdown and will be enforced by the police. As a result, gatherings outside of households are effectively banned and shops have to close. However, reading the small print reveals that automotive garages are within the limited number of retailers that will be allowed to remain open. And therefore tyre centres will be allowed to keep going as well. Motorists looking for information on garages in the Covid-19 lockdown can find more on Tyrepress’s sister site, WhatTyre.
The technical team that STARCO operates in Europe is joining together with parent company Kenda’s technical team. The aim of integrating the two teams is to leverage synergies within the firms’ global technical structure as well as drive further technological improvements. According to STARCO, it also represents a significant step in both companies’ growth plans for Europe.
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