
Tyre Industry Award winners 2016
The Tyre Industry Awards have been presented for 2016 during the sold-out NTDA Annual Dinner, this year hosted by the Vox Conference Centre on the site of Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre. In addition to the various gongs, the NTDA presented Sir Tom Farmer with the National Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Tyre Industry, sponsored by Hankook UK, while Brian Funnell and Lennie Wells were also made NTDA Honorary Life Members. Presented by television personality Suzi Perry, the winners were decided by a panel of leading industry judges, and the results live-tweeted by Tyrepress via its Twitter feed.
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Apollo Tyres appoints Daniele Lorenzetti its new CTO
Former Pirelli research and development director Daniele Lorenzetti has assumed the role of chief technology officer at Apollo Tyres, and has also joined the tyre maker’s Management Board. He succeeds Dr Seshu Bhagavathula, who recently returned to the automotive sector after a two-year stint at Apollo Tyres to take up the position of chief technology officer at Ashok Leyland. Lorenzetti is based in the company’s European headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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Prototype Cup running on Pirelli tyres
Pirelli will act as exclusive tyre supplier for the new Prototype Cup, the first national-level series in the UK for the increasingly popular LMP3 category of cars. Created by Bute Motorsport, organiser and promoter of the GT Cup – which Pirelli has supplied since 2009 – the opening round of the Prototype Cup takes place this weekend.
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Oak Tyres to move into new administrative headquarters
Oak Tyres is to open its new administrative HQ in the next few months. The company states that its new, custom-built premises in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside is significantly larger than its current facilities in Haydock, providing office space for more staff, and increased training facilities and display areas. The impending relocation highlights the recent success of Oak’s business; the company states that it has recorded its most successful trading year in the companys history.
Continue ReadingStapleton’s gets retailers geared up for SUV/4×4 growth
At the start of the year, the British car industry revelled in optimism that an all-time vehicle production record would be achieved by 2020 in the UK. The 900,000 cars rolling off the UK’s production lines in the first half 2016 – a sixteen-year high and 13 per cent up on the same portion of 2015 – gave more reason to be hailing this new dawn, and while a significant measure of doubt was added by Brexit, the figures suggest that the growth has come with premiumisation and a sustained boom in SUV manufacturing. High-end marques such as Range Rover drive this new demand and have made the UK Europe’s second biggest premium car producer. In 2010, the premium sector accounted for just 34 per cent of UK production; should trends continue, by 2020 this figure is expected to hit 54 per cent, with SUV and 4x4 models a big part of this.
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BKT launches mobile website
A mobile-friendly version of the BKT website went live today, and the off-road tyre maker says the m.bkt-tires.com site offers improved content research and browsing from any mobile device, with six language options (English, Italian, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese) available from the start. Additional languages will be introduced in the near future to cater to a wider range of users in the 130 countries where BKT is present. Site visitors from the USA will also be spared the ignominy of metric measurements by choosing the US standard option within the site’s settings.
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GSF Allstars’ fundraiser more than doubles its target
GSF Allstars teamed up with Atletico BCC – a team from Birmingham City Council rather than Spain - in a charity football match held at Castle Vale Stadium on Thursday 29 September 2016.
Continue ReadingHighest-ever September car registrations
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reveal that the UK new car market remained steady in September, rising 1.6 per cent. 469,696 cars were registered, as buyers purchased the new 66-plate.
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January launch for Bridgestone Dueler A/T 001
The Bridgestone Dueler 4x4 line-up will soon be strengthened by the addition of a tyre aimed at drivers who spend most of their time on-road yet occasionally hanker for dirt and mud. Bridgestone promotes the new Dueler A/T 001 as a “tough all-terrain and all-season tyre that doesn’t compromise on its on-road capabilities,” and from January 2017 the tyre will progressively replace the Dueler A/T 694 across Europe. An initial range of 23 sizes for 15- to 18-inch rims will cater to more than half of all European 4x4 tyre demand.
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From Ferrari to Land Rover: Pirelli highlights new OE at Paris Motor Show
A number of the most eagerly-awaited cars debuting at the Paris Motor Show this month wear Pirelli rubber as original equipment, the Italian manufacturer reports. Pirelli tyres can be seen on two new Ferrari models and on the latest Audi Q5, Porsche Panamera and Land Rover Discovery. The latter three benefit from the Pirelli Noise Cancelling System, a sound-soaking sponge within the tyre that reduces tyre noise by two to three decibels – an amount equivalent to around half of all cabin noise.
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Uniwheels for sale? Controlling shareholder assessing “strategic options”
A sharp dip in the Uniwheels AG share price was reversed on the afternoon of 4 October after the company informed the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) about its controlling shareholder’s decision to “assess its strategic options.” Uniwheels Holding (Malta) Ltd., a holding company owned by former Uniwheels chief executive officer Ralf Schmid and his brother Michael, is currently “at an initial stage” with its assessment, reported the German alloy wheel manufacturer.
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Brexit means…
What does Brexit mean? ...Brexit? Breakfast, as the apparently hungry Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies mistakenly said in the mother of all Freudian slips during this year’s Conservative Conference in Birmingham? Who knows? Indeed, as a certain Tyres & Accessories colleague remarked upon hearing Davies’ innocently accidental verbal pratfall, Prime Minister Theresa May’s favourite phrase on the subject - “Brexit means Brexit” means just about as much as “Brexit means breakfast”!
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Ams winter tyre test: a win for Continental
Following its test of all-season SUV tyres, German car magazine auto motor und sport (ams) has now turned its attention to dedicated winter tyres. The same model vehicle, an Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, saw service once again as test car for the comparative evaluation of ten size 215/60 R17 H/V winter products. The tyres were tested for snow, wet and dry performance, with each of these counting 30 per cent towards the final score, with the remaining ten percent reserved for environmental criteria.
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Intermot debut for Bridgestone Battlecruise H50
The Intermot show in Cologne, Germany gets under way today, and Bridgestone has chosen the motorcycle event as the global launch venue for its new Battlecruise H50 custom tyre for American V-Twin bikes. The Battlecruise H50 is being shown ahead of its official launch fitted on a Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight customised by Thunderbike – one of the kings of the custom business in Europe.
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January 2017 launch for Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
A replacement for the Michelin Pilot Super Sport will come to market next year. The new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S will be available in Europe and the USA from January 2017; the Pilot Sport 4 S range will include 34 sizes for 19- and 20-inch rim diameters, a portfolio that Michelin says covers 92 per cent of the market. The tyre maker anticipates that the Pilot Sport 4 S will become “one of the most successful sports tyres ever designed by Michelin for the general public.”
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