Halfords launches video game during Tyre Safety Month
Halfords has been drawing motorists to a two-minute tyre safety video game to test drivers’ knowledge during Tyre Safety Month. The game, 20,000 Miles in Two Minutes, has condensed a tyre’s 20,000-mile lifespan into two minutes – testing how drivers will react to and overcome road hazards as they make their way along a dual carriageway.
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150 years of Continental: UK joins celebrations
With Continental AG celebrating its 150th birthday in 2021, the company has been presenting milestones in its dynamic development over the last 15 decades in the form of events and interactive games. Following Continental’s actual birthday on 8 October, retail and fleet customers were invited to go on a journey through time to experience how Continental, present in the UK for close to a century, has become a pacesetter for modern automotive solutions and is helping to shape the future of holistic mobility.
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Nexen and Harry Redknapp Stevenage Starlets with new football kit
Stevenage Starlets’ under 14 team were recently presented with a new football kit by Harry Redknapp after winning a Nexen Tyre UK competition. Unbeknownst to them not only did they win Nexen-branded sportswear, well-known football manager, sporting pundit and King of the Jungle 2018 was also on-hand to make the presentation and help kick off the game with a pre-match team talk.
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Giti Tire’s Gibson in contention for BTRC crown after podium finishes
Two British Truck Racing Championship podium finishes and a fastest lap at Pembrey mean Giti Tire’s Martin Gibson will enter the final race weekend at Brands Hatch just five points behind the leader. His partner at Giti Tire Motorsport, Stuart Oliver overcame no less than three in-race collisions and still managed to secure both a first and second place finish across the five races.
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Cooper partners Goodwood Members’ Meeting for Rally Sprint
Cooper Tire Europe has presented a unique Rally Sprint event at the 78th Goodwood Members’ Meeting in a new partnership. Delayed since March 2020, the eagerly awaited Members’ Meeting took place on 16-17 October. The Goodwood Rally Sprint Presented by Cooper Tires showcased Cooper’s rallying heritage with a spectacular selection of World Rally Championship (WRC) machinery. It is currently a supplier to the North American Rally Championship and the Mobil Rally Chile, as well as being the sole tyre supplier to the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the sister FIA European Rallycross Championship.
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Cobley claims British Cross Country class title on Davanti Terratoura A/T
Terratoura A/T ambassador Edd Cobley has won the British Cross Country Championship’s Modified Production class. The off-road rally legend added the title to his collection with a brave performance at Walters Arena in Neath, South Wales. Cobley ran his self-built custom Land Rover Defender 110 - nicknamed Skippy 2.0 - on the Terratoura A/T throughout the championship, competing against competitors on Kevlar-reinforced specialist rally tyres.
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Biennial MOT testing ‘not the correct solution’ – NFDA NI
NFDA Northern Ireland has responded to Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure’s consultation on proposals to carry out MOT tests every two years. Sue Robinson, NFDA NI chief executive said that moving to biennial testing “is not the correct solution to the issues currently facing the NI Testing Scheme.” She said that the solution to current capacity issues should not come “at the expense of road safety.” The proposals were put forward earlier this year with the region’s MOT testing capacity struggling to keep pace with demand.
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PRA warns new record fuel prices to be ‘eclipsed’
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, has warned that record pump prices are almost certain to be eclipsed before the end of October. The current record prices of 142ppl for petrol and 148ppl for diesel were set in April 2012. Experian Catalist UK averages for 19 October were 141.35ppl and 144.84ppl respectively.
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TyreSafe: UK motorists ‘waste £0.6-1 billion’ due to tyre underinflation
TyreSafe has calculated that UK motorists waste more than £600 million worth of fuel due to tyre underinflation. Using data from Michelin’s Fill Up With Air survey showing that 57 per cent of vehicles are driven on underinflated tyres, as well as information sourced from the Department for Transport and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, TyreSafe is tying the economic argument for ensuring tyres are correctly inflated alongside safety concerns for this year’s Tyre Safety Month. Referring both to the general awareness of tyres as a vital safety component and rhetorically to question why drivers would not check their tyres at least once a month, his year’s October campaign asks Britain’s motorists directly: “What’s Stopping You?”
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Stapleton’s relaunching Continental’s Matador brand tyres in UK
Stapleton’s is relaunching Continental group brand Matador onto the market. The UK’s largest tyre wholesaler said it is bringing in a new Matador Customer Key Dealer Programme “designed with forward-thinking initiatives and has retailers at the centre of its strategy.” In the current trading environment, the brand has several advantages, one being the proximity of its production to the UK; all the brand’s car, van and 4x4 tyres are manufactured in Europe. Combined with Conti’s strong European supply chain infrastructure, Stapleton’s makes the point that Matador “has excellent availability with fast shipping into the UK from European factories.”
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MTS demonstrates evolving approach to complex UK tyre wholesale market
The complexity of the UK tyre wholesale sector has certainly ramped up considerably thanks to what may be termed an almost perfect storm of external factors relating both to the Covid pandemic and Brexit. With retail margins on consumer tyres already very fine, the wholesale sector has been key in keeping price increases under control, especially considering the spiralling cost of shipping. But as those in the sector know, the value wholesalers add within the distribution chain is a considerably wider subject than purely price. Arguably, the service dimension has never been more important than in the last 18 months, as retail businesses adapted to a market transformed by externalities. Tyres & Accessories asked Graham Mitchell, Micheldever Tyre Services wholesale director, about how the business is faring in 2021, starting with its performance this year.
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All in the same boat – Maritime Cargo Services explains shipping situation
For tyre distributors in import-heavy markets such as the UK, the sharp and sustained rise in the cost of shipping product from key sources such as China and South-East Asia is a major headache with potential market-reshaping consequences. While there have been varying levels of success in managing this headwind according to some in the market with whom Tyres & Accessories has spoken, strategically placed orders and bumper levels of stockholding can only ameliorate prices on such products for so long. Wholesalers have faced a difficult trading environment this year, which to this point has shown little sign of abating.
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Michelin sustainability award entry ‘head and shoulders above rest’ – NTDA
Michelin’s successful entry for the Tyre Industry Environment and Sustainable Solution Award 2021 “stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of corporate ambition, vision and practical commercial initiatives across the whole field of tyre recycling, materials reuse and wider environmental campaigns,” according to the judging panel, NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay commented. The tyre manufacturer’s entry for the award highlighted its aim to create greater value at all stages within the circular economy.
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Formula One aiming for 135 autocentres in 2022
Following the news that Formula One Autocentres can now count 124 garages in its growing network after the addition of its Spalding branch on 13 October 2021, company representatives have confirmed that they are aiming to grow the network to at least 135 autocentres by the end of 2022.
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Training, partnerships and philanthropy: NTDA national chairman Martin O’Brien’s speech
Speaking on behalf of the executive officers of the NTDA, national chairman Martin O’Brien welcomed delegates to the 7th NTDA Tyre Industry Conference (sponsored as it was by GB Tyres (UK) Ltd in association with Linglong Tyres), before updating us all on the continued growth of the association and addressing the subjects of recycling (via a TRA update) and industry training.
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