10,000 Jobs Expected To Go In Fiat Restructuring
Next week Fiat will announce details of its restructuring plans, which are expected to see worldwide job cuts of 10,000, many of which are likely to be in the US operations of Case New Holland. 1,000 jobs will go in Italy, through early retirement. Fiat chief executive Giuseppe Morchio will announce detailed plans on Thursday 26th and it is said that greater emphasis will be placed on R&D in the future.
Continue ReadingChristian Salvesen Wins Michelin Distribution Contract
Darfeuille, the French industrial division of logistics specialist Christian Salvesen, has won a multi-Euro contract to distribute tyres from Michelins St-Priest site near Lyon, destined for retail outlets and distributors in the Rhone-Alpes and Central region of France. Darfeuille has been operating Michelins Salon de Provence site since the beginning of 1998 and the companys experience and performance was instrumental in the award of the new contract.
Continue ReadingMichelin Pax System On Bugatti 16/4 Veyron
The 406 km/hr Bugatti 16/4 Veyron supercar is the latest vehicle to be equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres and the companys Pax System. Tyre sizes are 365-710 R 540 A (rear) and 265-690 R 500 A (front) and they were developed especially for the new Bugatti, which claims to be the worlds fastest production car.
Continue ReadingSuperior Stocks Picked By Forbes
The shares of wheel manufacturer Superior Industries have been rated a buy by investment experts Forbes in their Ten stocks for Summer 2003 by Forbes Top Gurus; the only automotive-related stock in the list.
Continue ReadingAward For Pirelli
The new Pirelli North America Tyre factory at Rome, Georgia has been named as the recipient of the 2003 Robots & Vision User Recognition Award for its MIRS robotic tyre manufacturing process. Pirelli is the fourth winner of the award, which is presented every two years at the International Robots & Vision Show and Conference.
Continue ReadingAllianz Reduces Stake In Continental
German insurance group Allianz is reported to have reduced its stake in Continental A.G. from 7.7 per cent to 4.97 per cent. Continental said that prominent institutional investors now own 47.5 per cent of the company, with the remaining shares freely floated.
Continue ReadingBeru Wins Additional Audi Business
Beru, which already supplies Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) for the Audi A8 and allroad quattro, has been awarded a contract to fit TPMS on additional Audi models. Delivery will start at the end of the year and Beru expects to supply 50,000 systems in 2004 and possibly double that number in 2005.
Continue ReadingMassive Leap In Indian Car Sales
Car sales in India rose by 41 per cent in May, following an excise duty cut of eight per cent. Unit sales in May totalled 55,166, compared with 39,150 units for May last year.
Continue ReadingWork Begins On Slovak Factory For PSA
The cornerstone has been laid for Peugeot Citroens new factory in Trnava, Slovakia. Vehicle production should begin in 2006, with an annual capacity of 300,000 units, employing 3,500 staff. The project represents an investment of 700 million Euros and is part of PSAs strategy to move manufacturing closer to expanding markets. In March this year, PSAs market share in the six Central European countries of Croatia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia was 13.6 per cent, compared to five per cent five years earlier.
Continue ReadingAnalysts Downgrade Michelin
Market analysts MorganStanley have downgraded Michelin from Overweight to Equal Weight status. This is despite the fact that Michelin has outperformed the Autos industry by 15 per cent since February and is in response to an expected cyclical slowdown in the industry. Michelin itself has said that it expects a marked slowdown in the European market, with only winter tyres showing increased volumes, and a continued fall in the North American market.
Continue ReadingPhilips Delivers 100 Millionth Sensor Chip To Conti
Royal Philips Electronics has just delivered its 100 millionth automotive sensor chip for ABS systems to Continental Teves. The two companies have been working together for ten years. In 2001, total demand for all types of ABS systems reached 33.8 million units and this is expected to rise to 40.9 million units in 2006.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Share Boost On Investigation News
Shares in Bridgestone rose 3.5 per cent on the news that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had decided not to re-open an investigation into 27.5 million Firestone Steeltex tyres. Bridgestone shares out-performed the Nikkei index in Tokyo, which rose 2.1 per cent to break through the 9,000 barrier for the first time.
Continue ReadingImproved Figures For Hayes Lemmerz
Hayes Lemmerz has released figures for fiscal 1Q, ending April 30th. Net sales rose 5.9 per cent to $515.3 million (1Q 2002: $486.7 m). Earnings from operations were $1.3 million, against a loss of $14.6 million a year earlier. The company recorded a net loss for 1Q of $22.6 million, compared with a net loss for 1Q in the prior year of $587.4 million, although this included a net charge of $555.4 million, resulting from a change in accounting principle. Without this, the 1Q net loss for 2002 would have been $33.0 million.
Continue ReadingAirline Tyre Contracts For Goodyear
At the Paris Air Show, Goodyear has announced three major contracts for bias-ply aircraft tyres. These are FedEx Corps 350+ jet fleet, ExpressJet Holdings (200 aircraft) and American Airlines 362 Boeing MD-80 jets. Despite these, Goodyear is convinced that the future lies in radial aircraft tyres, as they are more cost-effective. Russian carrier Aeroflot has chosen Goodyear radials for its new fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.
Continue ReadingCurrency Advantage For Western European Tyre Makers
It is better to be a tyre manufacturer in Western Europe rather than the USA, say analysts from the Deutsche Bank. The main reason is that raw material prices, billed in US$, have risen 20 per cent in Dollar terms, but only 3 or 4 per cent in Euro terms. Another advantage is in the performance of the respective tyre markets, with the European replacement truck tyre market in the first four months up 5 per cent (US market up 2 per cent) and the car tyre market in Europe rising 8 per cent, against a 5 per cent decline in the USA.
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