Goodyear implements direct online sales in US
Last January at its annual dealer conference, Goodyear unveiled plans to launch direct-to-consumer online sales across the US through its Goodyear.com website. Since then, Michelin has bought into two large European e-tailers and Apollo has acquired another. Clearly 2015 has been the year that tyre majors have allowed their online retail strategies surface. And while approaches differ between manufacturers and markets, Goodyear’s US approach is by far the most direct. At the moment, this approach centres on North America, however what we learn from Goodyear’s case is valuable in any market. In mid-November Tire Review editor Jim Smith met with Goodyear’s Mike Dauberman, senior director of marketing and interactive, and Bill Friel, general manager of consumer dealer retail, and here gives Tyres per cent Accessories readers access to their conversation.
Continue ReadingZenises hosts Rome partners day
Zenises recently held its first Italian convention to present its brand portfolio at the historic 900 year old Castello della Castelluccia in Rome. Fifteen partners from various Italian regions attended the gathering at which the 2016 brand development strategies in Italy were unveiled. In addition to cementing Zenises commercial agreements, new marketing concepts were also presented to ensure that the Italian market will be well served for 2016.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg receive double awards from AGCO
Trelleborg has been named AGCO 2015 ‘Best Quality Performance’ for China and also received the AGCO EAME 2015 ‘Supplier of the Year’ award in the “Logistics” category. Paolo Pompei, president Agricultural & Forestry Tires at Trelleborg Wheel Systems, says: “This double recognition of Trelleborg as a partner to AGCO is an exceptional achievement for us and a testament to the commitment that we share with AGCO; to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of future farming. We are extremely proud of these awards since they acknowledge the huge efforts Trelleborg is making to support joint-initiatives with AGCO.”
Continue ReadingCEAT signs Pirelli distribution deal
CEAT, India’s second largest two-wheeler tyre company, has signed an exclusive distribution partnership with Pirelli. Pirelli was once the owner of CEAT - Cavi Electrici e Affini Torino SpA – but RPG acquired CEAT in India in 1982. Nevertheless Pirelli continued to hold the global rights for the brand until five years ago.
Continue ReadingSambo Motors buys ailing tuner Carlsson
Sambo Motors Co. Ltd. is to take over insolvent Carlsson Autotechnik GmbH including all employees on 4 December 2015. The Korean automotive supplier with annual revenues of more than US$1 billion in 2014 and 3,000 employees wants to expand the production of special editions for car manufacturers and strengthen the production capacities at the historic plant in Merzig/Saarland.
Continue ReadingLassa unveils first global TV ad campaign
Lassa Tyres has launched its first global TV advertising campaign on Eurosport. The 20-second commercial will air across 54 European countries starting from 1 December for a period of one month. It will be followed by the main advertisement campaign which will start as of January 2016 and last till May 2016.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg buys Brazil-based industrial tyre manufacturer Standard Tyres Group
On 30 November 2015 Trelleborg’s Trelleborg Wheel Systems agreed to buy Standard Tyres Group, a Brazil-based privately owned industrial tyre manufacturer. The company is the market leader in industrial tyres in Brazil and the main supplier to locally based, global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of materials handling vehicles.
Continue ReadingMichelin buys ‘Fox Farm’ test centre in Ivalo, Finland
Michelin has acquired the Fox Farm artic test centre in Ivalo, Finland in order to “reinforce its testing and approval operations for winter tyres for passenger cars, vans and trucks”. Michelin, which made the purchase through its Michelin European Technology Centre, reports that it has operated the site for more than 20 years on an exclusive basis, regularly carrying out its testing and approval operations for winter tyres there. According to the company, the purchase guarantees Michelin can control its own test equipment and “top up” its winter testing resources, which range from Alpine passes to the Finnish plains as well as indoor infrastructures.
Continue ReadingLassa Tyres takes dealers to Barcelona’s Nou Camp
Lassa Tyres’ first tyre dealer meeting for specialists in the Barcelona region was held on Saturday 21 November at the Camp Nou, coinciding with the Real Madrid - FC Barcelona the football match. Lassa Tyres invited 100 dealers to the game via Barcelona regional distributor, Comercial Rojas.
Continue ReadingNexen Tire launches European TV advertising campaign
Nexen Tire is to launch its first European TV advertising campaign on Eurosport, Europe’s No.1 sports channel. The 30-second commercial will air across 54 European countries for 6 months, from December 2015 to May 2016 via Eurosport, which includes Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, and Eurosport 2 NEE.
Continue ReadingTyre Corporation of India closure under discussion
It’s still sick and India’s government is still thinking of closing it – according to The Economic Times, plans to divest government-owned company Tyre Corporation of India (TCIL) are no longer going ahead, nor is a joint venture partner being sought.
Continue ReadingAutomechanika Shanghai set for record-breaking show
Automechanika Shanghai 2015, the second largest Automechanika event worldwide, will open from 2 – 5 December at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Puxi, Shanghai, with record exhibitor numbers expected. Overall this is set to be the largest Automechanika Shanghai to date. Alongside exhibition space and numbers, 100,000 global buyers and trade visitors are expected, an increase of 12 per cent on last year.
Continue ReadingDuraturn establishing UK tyre business
Tyres & Accessories first met Duraturn at Reifen China in Shanghai in 2009. This wasn’t long after the company was founded in 2008 and yet the young companies ambitions were clear. At the point, the firm was not export ready, but things changed markedly in the few years that followed. The next time T&A met company representatives in 2010, less than two years after the business’s foundation, Duraturn’s production base was already well on the way to producing 1 million truck tyres a year truck and bus radial tyre production plant. The company broke ground on its passenger car radial tyre manufacturing line in 2013 and two years later is producing, modern compliant products for sale in China and for international export. Originally the company referred to itself using the firm’s official name - Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Rubber Co., Ltd. Now the company is bringing its tyre businesses under the more international “Duraturn” brand and embarking on an internationalisation programme that this year sees the firm put an emphasis on building business relationships in the UK.
Continue ReadingTrelleborg launching Interfit service brand in Australia and New Zealand
After years of offering Solid Service to its customers in Australia, Trelleborg Wheel Systems is poised to rebrand its service presence there. The national industrial, forklift and OTR tyre business, which Trelleborg acquired in 2007, will soon be brought in line with Trelleborg’s other tyre service setups around the world and operate under the Interfit name.
Continue ReadingLeasePlan sets 1.5 million vehicle record
LeasePlan Corporation N.V is expanding its fleet a record level of 1.5 million vehicles worldwide. LeasePlan is the first fleet management and driver mobility company in the global leasing industry to reach operations of this scale, a landmark confirming its global market leadership. Across the 32 countries where LeasePlan operates, its worldwide fleet has recently surpassed the 1.5 million mark compared to 1.3 million vehicles in 2010. This is an 8 per cent year on year increase in the number of vehicles under LeasePlan management, which numbered 1.40 million at end-September 2014.
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