Phoenix And BMW Sign Contract
The Phoenix consortium and BMW have signed a deal to sell Rover to Phoenix. BMW has contributed £500 million to the deal and additional finance has been obtained by American company Burdale Financial. It is expected that 2,000 jobs will be lost, which is fewer than would have been lost under the plan of Alchemy Partners who had pulled out of talks with BMW recently.
Continue ReadingFewer Visitors For “Tyres 2000”
According to Peter Hülzer, CEO of the German national tyre dealers association BRV, the Exhibition Tyres 2000 in Essen attracted a total of 15.000 visitors. This is 1,100 visitors fewer than for the 98 exhibition. The main reasons for this development are reckoned to be the later-than-usual date of the exhibition, the start of the holiday season in some parts of Germany and in a period of very hot weather during the exhibition.
Continue ReadingServicing The Car Fleet Market
The car fleet market varies from country to country across Europe, but in countries such as Germany and the UK, it is an important percentage of the car market. Increasingly, the owner of the car fleet is paying a fleet management company to maintain the cars and carry out maintenance, tyre replacements and so on. Many leasing companies expect to expand on a pan-European basis, which means that, increasingly, the service provider has to have continent-wide coverage. In the UK, the market leader in this field is Kwik-Fit Fleet, followed by ATS Euromaster, FTM Tyrefit (an affiliation of independent retailers, giving nationwide coverage and which has linked up with point S for coverage on mainland Europe) and National Tyres & Autocare. All these have operations outside the UK. It is easy to see the attraction of the fleet market – it is estimated that sales of tyres, batteries and exhausts to this sector are worth £180 million in the UK alone – and for the tyre manufacturers, it is strategically important as a means of increasing market share. The fleet customer is extremely demanding; not only in terms of service, but also in management reports and information, so the fleet service provider has to be much more than a mere tyre supplier. The market is very competitive and the motto of the provider is ‘service, service, service’. The attitude is summed up by Simon Roper, Managing Director of Kwik-Fit Fleet, who says, Nobody takes tomorrow’s business for granted.
Continue ReadingSwiss Tyre Dealers Association Joins BRV
The Swiss Tyre Dealers Association RVS (Reifenverband der Schweiz) has joined the equivalent German organisation BRV (Bundesverband Reifenhandel und Vulkaniseur-Handwerk). RVS represents 43 tyre dealers in Switzerland.
Continue ReadingTyre Recall Extended To Venezuela
Bridgestone/Firestone has announced that it is to recall 62,000 tyres sold in the Venezuelan market at an estimated cost of US$ 6.4 m. The tyres have been linked with 60 deaths in the country. The consumer protection agency is recommending investigation into charges of possible criminal negligence against Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone, plus a number of civil law suits are planned.
Continue ReadingM-Class Is Safe
At the beginning of August, an article in the German automotive magazine Auto Bild said that the M-Class Off-Roaders could be in danger of overturning. The company reacted immediately and carried out a second test together with the magazine, in which the safety of the M-Class was vindicated. The cause of the wrong first interpretation is that instructions for the special test were not followed accurately by the magazine.
Continue ReadingSales Of Cars In Asia To Fall Next Year
Despite the recovery in vehicle sales in Asia over the past two years, analysts are predicting a slowdown in sales in parts of the region, notably South Korea. The Asian car market is expected to fall by 3% next year, with little sign of recovery in 2002.
Continue ReadingNo News Would Be Good News
The Wall Street Journal questioned whether Goodyear acted too slowly, or put cost before safety regarding the tyre problems in the USA. Samir Gibara, for Goodyear stated, Our engineers determined that the tyres were not defective, so there was no recall. The outcome of the case could have a serious effect on the way in which manufacturers introduce quality improvements to their ranges in future.
Continue ReadingFirestone/Ford Issue Hits Courts
Lawyers from both plaintiffs and defendants argued in front of a panel of federal judges in Washington as they tried to decide how to deal with the 200 pending lawsuits. The judges will decide within two weeks whether to combine all the evidence and gather all the suits in one process. Ford, Firestone and lawyers for some plaintiffs argued for consolidation, saying it would simplify the process. Others say it might drag out the process unnecessarily. The multi-district panel hearing has caused the postponement of a hearing scheduled for 16th October. This latter case being sought by the Center for Auto Safety (Ralph Nadars organisation), seeks to widen the recall of Bridgestone/Firestone tyres. The alleged death toll has risen to 119, with injuries increasing to 500, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Continue ReadingCarbon Black Price Increase From Degussa-Hüls
Degussa-Hüls AG, the worlds second largest pigment black manufacturer with production sites in Europe, North America and Asia, has announced a price increase of 1,500 (one thousand five hundred) Euro per tonne for its extra conductive carbon black grade, effective from January 1st , 2001.
Continue ReadingOne Of The “Big Three” Will Lose Volvo Truck Business
As soon as the merger between Volvo and Renault has received final approval from the US competition authority, Volvo will cut down the number of suppliers. It is said that one of the big three (Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear), which are suppliers of truck tyres, could lose the business.
Continue Readingteam Reifen-Union Cooperates with VRG
The two cooperatives team Reifen-Union/Top Service Team KG (currently about 400 outlets) and Vereinigte ReifenFachhändler GmbH (VRG; currently about 200 outlets) have agreed a far-reaching cooperation on all levels, including the servicing of large customers and fleet management. An important ingredient is the immediate creation of a company called Team Reifen Partner GmbH + Co. KG (TRP), which will gradually incorporate both VRG and new companies as members. VRG members will still have to approve this measure officially in a meeting at the end of January. The team group, to date with a membership of 25 regionally successful tyre traders and as such the number one marketing group in the tyre market, will thus embrace also smaller and medium-sized tyre trading companies, whose members have already given their official consent to the plan. The new group based on the team/VRG cooperatives with more than 600 outlets is set to expand its base. An essential precondition for tyre dealers with local and regional operations and aspirations also to serve trans-regional customers, especially fleets and leasing companies, is full geographical coverage throughout Germany. At the same time the new partners want to coordinate their procurement and stocking policy and improve their purchasing terms and conditions.
Continue ReadingGoodyear To Close Factory In Argentina
The American tyre manufacturer plans to close one of its oldest factories, Pneumaticos Goodyear SA, which is located near Buenos Aires. Goodyear has operated a sales office in Argentina since 1915, making it one of the companys oldest subsidiaries outside the USA.
Continue ReadingStart Of Tyre Production At Bridgestone Poland
Bridgestone has launched the production of passenger car and light truck tyres in Poland. Right now the factory has a capacity of about two million tyres for passenger cars but in 2001 Bridgestone plans to manufacture three million high performance tyres.
Continue ReadingBBS Re-purchase Italian Factory
BBS has bought back the 50 per cent share in a light alloy wheel factory in Ruina (Ferrara), from it former partner in the joint venture, Riva Calzoni.
Continue Reading