Formula 4×4: Niche Marketing
Back in 1989 the market researchers were telling the motor industry and the press that the boom in 4x4 vehicles had peaked. Anyone who wanted a 4x4 already had one and the market would stagnate before declining. How wrong they were. What they failed to recognise was the change in the demographics of the market and the complete change in the image of the 4x4, which, nowadays, we are driven to call a Sports Utility vehicle (SUV). The market is still growing and every vehicle manufacturer in the world has an SUV range, or is planning an SUV range.The growth in the market has been less about the development of the grass roots off road vehicle than the emergence of the SUV as a fashion and lifestyle statement. There are still those who use their 4x4 for the purpose for which it was designed, either work or leisure, but the phenomenal growth has been in the luxury end of the market where the vehicles may look as if they are designed to tackle the wild mountain tracks, but will be lucky if they clip the kerb in the supermarket car park. The dilemma for the tyre dealer was that the vast majority of tyres for 4x4 vehicles were originally designed for agricultural use and, though, moderately capable in the mud, were less than well suited to road use. As the market developed, the availability of increasingly road biased tyres increased. As the SUV market grew there also developed a growing demand for higher and higher performance road tyres. Today the advent of the BMW M5 and now the Porsche Cayenne and the continued road refinement of the Range Rover has set an unprecedented demand for high and ultra-high performance road tyres aimed at SUVs. Tread patterns, widths and profiles that wouldnt look amiss on a sports car now adorn vehicles which have a heritage which harks back to the Willys Jeep.
Continue ReadingGet The Lead Out – End Of Life Vehicles
The End of Life Vehicle Directive (ELV) is due to come into force in the near future and the controversy appears to be raging as fiercely as ever, with opinions differing sharply as to how this is going to affect our industry.As we are dealing with politicians, it would be too much to hope for a clear, unambiguous statement such as lead weights will be illegal from such-and-such a date so what is going to happen is largely a matter of interpretation of the Directive. One paragraph of the ELV says: Member states shall ensure that materials and components of vehicles put on the market after July 1 2003 do not contain lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium other than in cases listed I Annex II under the conditions specified therein.Annex II is headed Materials and components exempt from Article 4(2)(a), which is the paragraph quoted above and includes a number of materials and components including a number containing or made of lead, one of which is wheel balance weights.
Continue ReadingThe Prognosis For Diagnosis
For every business there are items that you can hold in stock and you can sell them at any time. Tyres, wheels, exhausts, batteries, all can be sold off the shelf. If you dont sell them today you can sell them tomorrow. For some businesses their stock in trade is time. The hotel trade doesnt sell rooms, it sells time. The rooms will always be there, but they are each allocated time which they sell. The problem with selling time is that you can only sell it once. The fast fit operator - indeed any garage operator - has the same difficulty which we call ramp time. Fast fits may not actually sell the ramp time, but every minute the ramps are not occupied by vehicles undergoing profitable work the option to sell work on that ramp is vanishing down the plughole of time. Most service managers recognise this and try to minimise the time vehicles spend on the ramps. Buyers will ensure that the exhausts they buy have a problem-free fitting procedure. In the efficient garage, time management is everything. However, even with the best time management of jobs there is, for many depots, the point where the work being done fails to fill all the available time.There can be three outcomes to this. The first, and most likely, is that the time allocated to the job is stretched to fill the time available. We all recognise the scenario - we take our car to the garage for a repair - the garage is devoid of customers, four mechanics sit reading the newspaper - it takes all day to do the job. On another day we arrive and the cars are lined up outside the doors. The same job is done in an hour. The second outcome is that the jobs are carried out as efficiently as possible and the ramps lie ready for their next customer. This may well be a better practice than the first, but it doesnt sell the time when the ramps are not in use. The third option is to find another profit centre which will see the ramps in use.Since we are in the wheel and tyre business there is a tendency to keep the business revolving around the four corners of the car - brakes and shock absorbers are the most popular additional parts areas for fast fits. Skill levels required are relatively low, so labour costs remain low. The parts are often, though not always, fast fit. Pull off the old and fit the new. Some have dabbled in so-called fast fit clutch operations - but fast fit is all relative. If someone drives in with a Ford Mondeo or a Transit and asks for a fast fit clutch they may think your fast fit description is stretching the realms of credibility. Further, your mechanics time with the vehicle on the ramps - possibly special ramps - ties that bay up and, again, you can only sell your time once.There are, of course, other options; basic servicing is only a short step from fast fit work, though your reputation depends upon the skills of your mechanics. Can you afford to pay a mechanic rate to someone who may spend most of his time as a tyre fitter? MoT bays are yet another option. Both MoT bays and service operations can be used to open doors to enhanced tyre, exhaust, and accessory sales. However, there is one profit centre which may well be worth considering as a development to ensure those ramps are never left empty.As one commentator told T&A, without diagnostics all the service garages are going to be left with are tyres and exhausts. That statement should send shivers down the spine of every fast fit operator in the country. If the service garages are being forced to move into tyres and exhausts in a big way in order to retain their revenue, that must ultimately have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of the fast fit depot - dragging revenues down.
Continue ReadingThree Tier Strategy For Yokohama
Yokohama has announced a three layered strategy for developing the brand. The first move will be to increase the range of high performance products available from the company. The second will be to launch a new global range of products for truck and bus, and thirdly it will target increases in export levels. These three strategies will create the new approach to business recently announced by Yokohama. A company spokesman said, The aim is to provide our clients, world-wide, with the highest quality products and services based on Yokohamas own developments.Yokohama hopes to reach net sales of 460,000 billion Yen within three years, an increase of 15 percent from this years figure. This aims for an operating profit of 35 billion Yen by 2005.
Continue ReadingVisteon/SmarTire Partnership For Tire Pressure Monitoring
Visteon Corporation and SmarTire Systems Inc. have established a partnership agreement bringing to market a best-in-class solution in automotive tyre monitoring technology. The two companies have agreed to combine their technical capabilities in working with automobile manufacturers to design and manufacture the latest in tyre monitoring systems. The partnership merges Visteons vehicle integration expertise, global design and manufacturing capability with SmarTires patented, wireless, tyre pressure and temperature monitoring system. The demand for these systems is growing significantly from global automobile manufacturers.This agreement is exactly the type of agreement we need to make, said John Kill, Visteon Vice President of Product Development. It combines the strengths of companies to cost effectively deliver the technologies our customers want and need. The agreement places SmarTire in partnership with a Tier 1 automotive parts supplier. Original equipment manufacturers rely on Tier 1 suppliers to provide the products, quality and scheduled deliveries required by the automotive industry, reports Robert Rudman, SmarTires President and Chief Executive Officer. This relationship with Visteon opens the door for SmarTire to the original equipment marketplace. Together, the two companies will market high quality, low-cost SmarTire solutions to automotive manufacturers globally. The agreement also allows Visteon manufacturing rights for certain SmarTire products and establishes provisions that will enable SmarTire and Visteon to jointly explore other opportunities such as the commercial vehicle market.
Continue ReadingAXA Financial Cut Holdings In Goodyear
AXA Financial Inc. has cut its shareholding in Goodyear from 20,333,870 common shares at December 31st, 2001 to 10,845,483 common shares on December 10th 2002. This represents a drop from 12.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent.
Continue ReadingAgricultural Tyres
They say that you never see a satisfied farmer. What about agricultural tyre manufacturers and distributors - what sort of year has it been for them? We take a look at the factors affecting the agricultural tyre market and some of the latest products available. We also get the views of those who attended the biggest UK agricultural event, the Smithfield Show.
Continue ReadingFurther Turmoil At Fiat
In 2000, GM acquired 20 per cent of Fiat Auto. As part of the deal, Fiat could sell the remaining 80 per cent to GM in 2004. Now there are indications that the Italian company is offering to free GM from its obligation in return for GMs approval of restructuring moves. Nothing has yet been decided, but the restructuring could involve bringing in VW as an investor in Fiats Maserati brand, or a possible sale of part or all of Alfa Romeo. Any such move would require the consent of GM, and the price for this could well be the removal of the obligation to purchase. In the meantime, Fiats joint chief executive Gabriele Galateri has resigned after less than six months in the job.
Continue ReadingFiat Layoffs Lead To Trouble
Fiat has laid off 5,600 workers for at least a year while the company restructures. Those laid off blocked two main roads in Italy, while some of those who still had jobs went on strike in sympathy, halting work at the companys Mirafiori car assembly line. More stoppages are planned and the metal-workers trade union is calling for a general strike in Turin this Friday. The Italian government has given Fiat the go-ahead to lay off up to 8,100 workers, some of them temporarily.
Continue ReadingDate Change For Reifen 2004
The organisers of the Reifen 2004 show have changed the dates of the exhibition. Instead of being held in Mid-May, Reifen 2004 will now take place from Tuesday 8 June to Friday 11 June 2004. The switch has been made to avoid a clash with Drupa 2004 (Dusseldorf), which is scheduled for May.
Continue ReadingKumho To Be Control Tyre For International F3 Series
Kumho will be the sole supplier to the new Formula 3 Euro Series, supplying its ECSTA Formula 3 slicks and wet weather tyres to all teams. The series comprises ten races between April and October next year and the races take place in five different countries (Germany, Italy, France, Austria and The Netherlands).
Continue ReadingTyre World To Be Held At ExCeL Next November
Idex Media, the organisers of the new tyre exhibition Tyre World, have revealed that the show will be held at Londons newest venue, ExCeL, situated in the heart of the capitals Docklands. Tyre World will be held on November 23rd and 24th 2003 and, because the 23rd is a Sunday, this should make the show more accessible to the smaller, independent tyre retailer. Buzz Carter, of Idex, described ExCeL as a superb venue with cutting edge facilities and easily accessible by road, air and rail.
Continue ReadingKumho Winter Tyre Wins Ecolabel Award
Kumho has become the first tyre manufacturer to be awarded the Green Swan Ecolabel for a new product. Both the companys KWN7401 IZen tyre and the manufacturing process passed stringent tests set by the Nordic Ecolabelling Board. These had to demonstrate that the tyre was made with the lowest possible impact on the environment and that it operated in an environmentally friendly way during its lifetime, with low noise levels, low rolling resistance and the ability to be reused after its first life.
Continue ReadingVW Aims To Recapture Market Share In China
VW is to launch two new models in China, the Golf and the Polo, aimed at the fast-growing low-price vehicle segment. VW holds a 40 per cent share of the Chinese market, down from over 54 per cent two years ago. The company expects to sell 500,000 vehicles this year and hopes to double this figure by 2007 as the market continues to expand. This year China overtook the USA to become VWs second largest market after Germany.
Continue ReadingKaplan Praises Sava Performance In Interview
In an interview with a Slovenian newspaper Jarro Kaplan, president of Goodyears Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East region, paid tribute to the part played by Sava Tire in Goodyears global business activities. Since Goodyear took an 80 per cent stake in Sava in 1998, the Slovenian company has grown in international importance, exporting more than 90 per cent of its production to 70 countries, with plans to enter the US market soon. Kaplan described the Sava workforce as well educated, highly productive and internationally oriented. A five-year investment program in Sava was completed a year ahead of schedule and, says Kaplan, Goodyear is seriously considering further production expansion. In addition to the Sava brand, the factory produces Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda and Debica brand tyres and is Goodyears only European factory to produce 17.5 inch truck tyres.
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