EU Approval of Grant To Continental
The European Union has approved grants given by the Portuguese government to Continental as an incentive to establish projects in Lousado, Portugal. The Swedish government had raised objections when Continental closed a production plant in Sweden (Gislaved) and transferred work to Portugal (Mabor). The EU reserves the right to re-examine the case if new evidence arises.
Continue ReadingFour Blimps Together
Goodyear is intending the first four blimp formation in forty years at Pittsburgh on the 6th September. The occasion will be the naming of the latest addition to the fleet, the Spirit Of America. It will be joined by, Eagle, Stars and Stripes and Spirit of Goodyear.
Continue ReadingBrodsky Bids For Alliance
Harvey Brodsky, best known for his involvement with Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB), has made a 50 million dollar bid to buy 51 per cent of Israel-based Alliance Tire Co. Alliance has issues a memorandum of understanding and the due diligence process is under way. At the conclusion of the due diligence period either party has the option to walk away from the proposal.
Continue ReadingAnalysts Downgrade Ford
UBS Warburg has downgraded Ford stocks from a Hold rating to Reduce, citing cash outflows for years to come due to a mixture of non-competitive operations and weakness in the pension fund. The analysts estimate that Ford will contribute $5-7 billion to the pension fund up to 2007, although they stress that, with cash reserves of 23 billion, there is no question of insolvency. The downgrading is in response to the belief that Ford requires a more stringent restructuring plan if it is to prosper, and the chances of such a plan being implemented are very small.
Continue ReadingTiger Wheels Grow
South African Tiger Wheels has benefited from a weak Rand pushing attributable earnings up by 63.3 per cent for the year to June. Revenue was up by 22 per cent and earnings by 49 per cent. According to the company the average euro-to-rand rate of R8.95 had most benefited the German-based division, ATS which became one of the main drivers for the growth in revenue. The company reported an improvement in production at its Babelegi plant in South Africa, increased production from the new Polish facility and the first phase of a new US wheel manufacturing facility at Auburn, Alabama was now under way. The US expansion has come about to meet the demand for wheel rims from DaimlerChrysler.
Continue ReadingChinese Auto Market Stalled
The Chinese automotive market, expected to be the largest growth market for the coming decade has so far not lived up to expectations. Vehicle manufacturers are prepared to meet the expected demand but Chinese finance regulations have not been adapted to allow lending to facilitate purchase of cars. Currently only 10 per cent of private purchases are financed in Chine compared to 75 per cent in the USA. According to General Motors sales dont start rising until financing packages are available from the manufacturers. Currently finance is only available from the rapidly expanding Chinese banks where automotive finance business has grown by over 50 per cent per year for the past three years.
Continue ReadingCeat To Import Pirelli To India
Indian manufacturer Ceat Ltd has caused a stir by agreeing to outsource some 10,000 tyres per month from Pirelli. Recently Indian companies have sought to find cheaper alternative products by buying from other, lower cost markets but this move goes against the trend with Ceat importing higher cost, higher quality products from a world leading brand. The reasons are said to be to fill the gap left by the collapse of the Ceat - Goodyear JV to produce radials and to try and give the company a foothold in the growing radial tyre market without setting up another manufacturing operation in India. It may also offer a low risk opportunity to test the Indian markets capacity for high quality, high cost premium brand products. The outcome of the exercise may alter the nature of the Indian tyre market according to some commentators.
Continue ReadingLast Roller Rolls Off Crewe Production Line
The last Rolls-Royce to be made at the factory in Crewe has rolled off the production line, marking the end of 56 years of manufacture of the luxury car at the plant. In future, Rolls-Royces will be made at BMWs factory in West Sussex and the Crewe plant will be renamed Bentley Motors Ltd. next month. The final vehicle was a unique two-door Silver Storm convertible Corniche, worth an estimated 250,000 Pounds.
Continue ReadingSuppliers Halt Daewoo Production
Three Daewoo factories have been idle for two days after Korea Delphi Automotive Systems shut off component supplies in a row over payment. KDAS is Daewoos largest parts supplier and is said to be owed US$ 109 million by the car manufacturer. 200 other suppliers are also said to be considering cutting off supplies.
Continue ReadingNow Rugby Gets Go-Ahead To Burn Tyres
The Rugby Primary Care Trust has given the go-ahead for tyre burning trials at the towns cement works, provided emissions are rigorously and independently monitored. A Health Impact Assessment report said that the only pollutant to increase was likely to be zinc and levels of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, nickel and lead would be less, compared with burning only coal. The decision was greeted angrily by protestors, some of who turned up at the meeting carrying a coffin.
Continue ReadingToyota Plans Assault On China
Toyota is launching a joint venture with First Automotive Works, Chinas biggest car manufacturer, to make luxury sedans, SUVs and cheaper, smaller cars in China for the local market. The target is to sell up to 400,000 vehicles a year by 2010 and an unconfirmed report suggests that the investment will total 1.29 billion Euros.
Continue ReadingHigh Performance Tyres From Nokian
Nokian Tyres has developed two new high performance summer tyres, tailored for Central Europe, the USA and Nordic countries, and which will go on sale next spring. The NRVi is a V-rated tyre available in 19 sizes and features an info field near the bead area - the tyre fitter marks the field with the correct inflation pressure for the drivers convenience. The second tyre, the NRY, is Z-rated (maximum speed 300 km/hr) and comes in six sizes, which correspond to OE sizes of many luxury cars.
Continue ReadingObituary – Chris Groenewald
It was with great sadness that we learned of the death on Monday of Chris Groenewald (59), UK Sales Director of Varta Automotive Batteries, following a year-long battle against illness. He joined Varta in 1982 and was a popular and respected figure, who will be missed by his many friends in the battery industry.
Continue ReadingCanadian Police Contract For Goodyear
Goodyears Canadian operation has won a three-year contract to supply tyres to all police pursuit vehicles in the province of Quebec. The contract, the value of which was not revealed, means that these vehicles will be fitted with Goodyears RSA Plus tyres; a product designed specifically for police use and which is fitted as OE on Chevrolet Impala, Ford Crown Victoria and Chrysler Intrepid police pursuit vehicles.
Continue Reading2Q Sales Growth For Federal
Federal Corporation of Taiwan has reported strong second quarter sales growth, up 19.4 per cent over the same period last year. 2Q sales were US$ 25.7 million (21.5 million in 2Q 2001) and markets outside Taiwan and China contributed US$ 18.9 million, or 77 per cent of the total. For the first six months of the year, sales are up by 18.3 per cent, at US$ 48.9 million.
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