Toyama – Japanese firm producing in China
Another new name to Tyres & Accessories was Toyama Tyre Corp., Ltd., a company that reportedly runs its own factory in Shandong Province’s rubber city, Qingdao. The leadership of the business is said to have moved to China after having originally established itself as Japanese entity. In fact the company takes it moniker from the Japanese city of the same name.
Continue ReadingDaree makes its debut
One particular newcomer at last year’s Reifen China, was Anhui Daree Rubber Corporation Ltd. Eager to find out more about the largest of this year’s show debutants, Tyres & Accessories spoke to JoJo Zhao and Vicky Shaw of the company’s global trade department and Lydia Cheung from the Daree’s sales department. Formed in June 2010, Daree Rubber is a subsidiary operation of the Daree petrochemical group Daree Enterprise Group owned by Bajie Hua and is located in SanShan District, Wuhu City, Anhui Province. Like many newcomers before it, the business has ambitious plans to produce millions of truck and bus radial tyres within two years of formation, followed by the addition of passenger car radials to the range later in 2012 – all under the snappy motto of “pursuit to be perfect.”
Continue ReadingMotorsports successes mark Brembo's Golden Jubilee
Brembo, the designer and manufacturer of brake systems and high performance automotive components, celebrates 50 years in business, confirming its technological supremacy through a string of great successes in competitive motorsports during 2011. The list of winners using Brembo products is truly staggering. Among these are 12 victories in the Formula One Championship that saw Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull Racing team successfully defending the Drivers' and Constructors' Titles won in 2010. Involved in Formula One since 1975, Brembo is able to boast 205 Grand Prix race wins, making up a total of 17 World Championship Drivers' titles and 21 World Championship Constructors' titles, achieved with the top teams.
Continue ReadingThorite downloadable publication
Compressed air products and process systems distributor Thorite, has launched the Winter 2011-12 copy of its popular Air Power publication, featuring top quality products at the lowest prices – and it is now available to download from the Thorite website.
Continue ReadingSurvey reveals tyre neglect by UK fleets
Throughout 2011, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) conducted research to analyse the defects that in-service Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) have. The results, which were collected over four, two-week periods, revealed over 1,000 tyre defects on the 6,000 vehicles inspected. The FTA is one of the UK's largest trade associations and represents the transport interests of companies moving goods by road, rail, sea and air. For over 45 years FTA's Vehicle Inspection Service has been supporting companies by inspecting and auditing the safety, legality and overall performance of their commercial vehicles, related equipment and general maintenance arrangements, to ensure that fleets operate to a consistently high, UK standard.
Continue Reading2011 a record year for Rolls-Royce
We are told that we are living in an age of austerity and belt-tightening, but this has not stopped Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announcing that 2011 was a record year for sales of the luxury marque. 3,538 cars were sold globally during the year, a 31per cent increase on the 2010 total of 2,711 cars. The figure represents the best sales result in the company's 107-year history; the previous record of 3,347 cars having been set in 1978 during the Silver Shadow II era.
Continue ReadingInsurance broker joins TyreSafe
There was a positive start to the year for TyreSafe with the announcement of a new member - Adrian Flux Insurance Services is one of the UK’s leading motor insurance firms and the first TyreSafe member from the insurance sector.
Continue ReadingVW sales pass eight million
Good news from the Volkswagen Group at the Detroit Motor Show, when it announced that global vehicle sales rose above 8m for the first time last year, passing Toyota and moving closer to expected number one General Motors.
Continue ReadingRange Rover Evoque wins Detroit accolade
The Range Rover Evoque has been named the 2012 North American Truck of the Year. The announcement, which was made at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, saw the Evoque triumph over tough competition from the BMW X3 and the Honda CR-V. The judging panel of senior US automotive journalists chose the Evoque as the winner after reviewing it against its competitors in six key categories: value for the dollar, innovation, handling, performance, safety and driver satisfaction.
Continue ReadingLess motorway lane hogging, and other resolutions
It is nice to see that promises of better motoring are amongst the New Year’s resolutions recently made (and possibly already neglected). Fast fitter HiQ questioned 500 drivers about what they intend to change in 2012, and many indicated that an improvement in highway manners is on the cards.
Continue ReadingConti targets EV market with battery JV
Continental Corporation and Korean company SK Innovation have announced they will jointly develop, manufacture and market lithium ion batteries systems for electric vehicles. The two companies have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for this purpose, with SK Innovation and Continental holding 51 and 49 per cent ownership respectively.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Americas launches sport-oriented brand campaign
In addition to its sponsorship of the Super Bowl halftime show – this year featuring performances by Madonna, Cirque du Soleil and others – Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations is investing in a new brand campaign that will air during the football final and other major sporting events. The first in a series of five television commercials debuted 2 January, and two of the sports-themed advertisements will be screened during the Super Bowl XLVI on 5 February.
Continue ReadingBridgestone MotoGP tyres “too hard” – Capirossi
The new safety advisor to MotoGP and series promoter Dorna, Loris Capirosi has told an Italian motorsport magazine that he has made it his priority to improve the safety of tyres supplied to the series by Bridgestone. The 22 year racing veteran – including 10 years as a MotoGP rider – said that he had met with Bridgestone in Valencia, characterising the encounter as “tough”.
Continue ReadingVauxhall tops van sales chart
Luton-based Vauxhall Commercial vehicles sold more vans at retail in 2011 than any other manufacturer, says the SMMT. Van sales during the year totalled 11,436 – a 25.05 per cent rise over the previous 12 months. To put this in perspective, the market grew by 8.32 per cent.
Continue Reading2011 a good year for van and CV sales
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reveal that, in 2011, there were 260,153 registrations of vans up to 3.5 tonnes; 16.7 per cent up on 2010. Truck registrations were boosted by a buoyant sales month in December, with registrations for the month up 45 per cent year on year. For two-axle rigid vehicles above 6 tonnes, growth rates ranged from 30 to 90 per cent across the various weight segments. Previously, these sectors had lagged behind artic and multi-axle sales. Taking the year as a whole, truck registrations rose by 24.6 per cent.
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