JD Power says buyers don’t use the Internet for tyres
According to JD Powers recent survey of North American buyers, whilst the Internet has become a regular shopping tool for nearly two-thirds of new-vehicle buyers, few vehicle owners use the Internet when it comes time to buy replacement tyres. The study finds that more than 60 percent of tire buyers access the Internet, but only 16 percent of those who access the Internet use it when they need to buy replacement tires. The desire to discuss their needs with a tire salesperson and their intentions to buy from the same retailer are key reasons tire buyers do not use the Internet as a tire shopping tool today, said Jeff Zupancic, director of the tire practice at J.D. Power and Associates. Of course, since the JD Power survey relates to new car owners it only touches on that fraction of the market. The larger, used car sector may make a different use of the Internet for tyre purchases.
Continue ReadingSmall is dangerous – according to US research
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysed statistics from every major type of crash between 1991 and 1999 and found that occupants of lighter cars would suffer the most if the nations cars and trucks were to become lighter. NHTSA estimated that reducing weight per vehicle by an average 100 pounds would result in 597 more small-car deaths annually, 216 more large car deaths and 305 more light truck deaths. It doesnt mean we would rule out weight reductions, said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson. We dont design vehicles. But it does mean the people who design vehicles will have to be careful about how they make weight reductions so they dont compromise safety. This continues a long tradition of defending the typically large US vehicle. If we all drive smaller cars then small cars are safe, otherwise the laws of physics apply.
Continue ReadingFord and Mazda to expand capacity in Thailand
Ford and Mazda are to invest $500 million in their joint venture in Thailand; a country that Bill Ford says will spearhead Fords Asian growth strategy. The investment will increase annual production from 135,000 vehicles to 200,000, plus Ford plans to set up a regional headquarters in Thailand.
Continue ReadingContinental strengthens Asian presence
Continental has increased its holding in Malaysian tyre manufacturer Sime Darby from the initial 30 per cent (an investment of 52.6 million US$) to 51 per cent. Sime Darby groups two tyre companies will now be known as SDC Tyre Sdn Bhd. As well as a manufacturing base, the move gives Continental access to Sime Darbys Malaysian dealer network of more than 1,000 outlets.
Continue ReadingBAR-Honda to switch to Michelin
Despite Ferraris F1 Championship win on Bridgestone tyres, BAR-Honda, the second-most successful Bridgestone team in this years competition, has announces that it will switch to Michelin tyres for next seasons campaign. Bridgestone is investigating the legal implications of the request, while Michelin regards the move as a vote of confidence in its F1 tyres.
Continue ReadingHong Kong to introduce tyre tax
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions (HKSAR) government is proposing that all new tyres are registered and taxed. A spokesman said that new car buyers will be required to pay an annual tax of HK$100 (11 Euro) for the five tyres on a car. The money will be used to buy and operate machinery to turn scrap tyres into rubber bricks, used to pave roads, and once the capital outlay for the machinery is recouped, the tyre tax will be lifted. The proposal has the backing of the Hong Kong Automobile Association.
Continue ReadingNo solution for industrial tyre disposal
The Industrial Tyre Association (ITA) and the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) have warned that there are inadequate recycling facilities for industrial tyres in the UK. Although solid industrial tyres only represent one per cent of the total tyre arisings there are no dedicated facilities for their disposal and there are fewer and fewer landfill sites accepting whole tyres of any sort. The ITA and the FLTA sought some flexibility from the Dti and the Environment Agency, but have been told that the regulations will be rigidly applied.
Continue ReadingSafety award for Bosch
Bosch has been presented with the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for Driver and Passenger Safety for its development of Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), which prevents vehicles getting out of control. ESP is the latest evolution in electronic braking systems, which started with the introduction of ABS 25 years ago.
Continue ReadingRegion with potential for the Goodyear Group
Jarro F. Kaplan, a Goodyear employee since 1986, is already in his second year as President Eastern Europe and is responsible for the region that includes Eastern Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East as well as some other countries in Asia. Before that he was General Manager Deutsche Goodyear in Cologne for two years and earlier in his career he held General Manager positions in the UK and Turkey. The region he is now responsible for is - measured by turnover - relatively small, but is becoming increasingly important due to the fact that the group is running highly competitive factories in Poland, Slovenia and Turkey. The income of the workers in those countries is not comparable with that of countries in Western Europe and will not become so for the next decade. The biggest factory within the production network of the Goodyear Group in the whole of Europe is the Polish factory in Debica. The production is focused on passenger car tyres, mostly S/T rated. The Debica brand dominates, but many Fulda tyres are also produced there. And the Goodyear brand? Not yet says Kaplan. Debica has a production capacity of 40,000 tyres a day and there are already concrete plans drawn up to expand this. Plus it should not be forgotten that the Debica factory also produces some agricultural tyres as well as commercial tyres. South Africa also belongs to Kaplans Empire. Goodyear has a big factory there and also its own equity with about 150 outlets, plus it is building and expanding a franchise-system. Starting from South Africa, Goodyear is interested in doing more business in countries like Botswana, Sierra Leone, Kenya and some other countries. The companys own equity in South Africa is doing a good job delivering tyres in the shortest possible time to customers. But it is absolutely clear that in the long run Goodyear must have its own people in those countries on which the company can rely; it can no longer leave everything in the hands of distributors. Kaplan: You need to have your own people on the ground. Kaplan is travelling much more. For example to Dubai; from here Goodyear is defending its interests in countries like Israel as well as Palestine, in Iraq, Iran and so on. He travels to the north of Africa as well as to Pakistan. Pakistan belongs to his region. He who knows world politics can imagine that it might be impossible to bring India and Pakistan together under the one umbrella of Goodyear Asia. To summarise: The Eastern Region is active in 95 different countries, with 52 different languages, which forces all managers to be sensitive and to respect the varied cultures.
Continue ReadingTIC warns of old tyres
An increase in the number of cars with old tyres identified at recent police roadside tyre checks has led the Tyre Industry Council to issue a warning to motorists of the potential dangers of running a car or van on over age tyres. TIC tyre experts at roadside tyre checks in Hertfordshire and Wiltshire identified a number of vehicles with tyres between 10 and 12 years old and one car with tyres that were 15 years old. Whilst this is not illegal, says the TIC, there are certain circumstances where the `ageing’ process can render a tyre unserviceable even if it is unused. As the components within the tyre dry out with age, they can separate, causing the tyre to distort and vibrate and potentially the tyre could fail and deflate. Motorists are able to check the age of a tyre by examining the date code on the sidewall of the tyre. If it is 10 years old or over the TIC strongly recommends that it be replaced. The TIC that although tyre manufacturers add anti-ageing chemicals to compounds they are only active when the tyre is in use; therefore tyres fitted to spare wheels, caravans and trailers are particularly at risk of premature ageing bought on by ozone degradation and static `sitting’ for lengthy periods. Hence if an unused tyre reaches six years old it should not be placed into service.
Continue ReadingMarketing appointment for Goodyear Dunlop UK
Neil Burrows (44) has been appointed to the newly-created role of Marketing Director for Goodyear Dunlop UK. He joins the company from Nissan Europe, where he was responsible for advertising and brand management across Europe. Before this he was Marketing Director of Nissan (GB).
Continue ReadingToyo doubles capacity
T&A talks to Martin Sutherland, general manager at Toyo in the UK, for an update on the company development. Toyo is perhaps one of the most recognised mid-market brands in the UK. A series of targeted media campaigns both above and below the line have gone a long way to establishing the brand as the performance tyre of choice for many driving enthusiasts. In spite of the success of the UK operation it remains answerable to Toyo Reifen in Germany, so there is no UK managing director, the head of the chain of command in the UK is Martin Sutherland. Martin Sutherland has been with Toyo in the UK for the past 21 years, joining the company from Pirelli; so he knows a thing or two about the market in the UK. Toyo has recently moved premises at Rushden. The re-location was only about 100 yards up the road, but the new premises have doubled the available storage space allowing Toyo to improve its stock capacity and as consequentially improve its service to its customers. Martin Sutherland says, We have virtually doubled our stock capacity by moving to this unit. It offers us 70,000 square feet, which is twice the area of the old unit. However, we have managed to relocate without too great a disruption to our service or distribution. In fact, in the past we used to hold stock at the dockside and at one point had as many as 70 containers sitting in storage. All that stock is now held here, and we still have room to expand. One of the limitations we had on developing the business was the warehouse capacity and our restriction on turning stock around. That is no longer an issue and that allows us to offer a full width of patterns and sizes in all ranges. That gives us the potential to further build the business and we have the capacity here to grow considerably in all areas. The wholesale and distribution side of the tyre trade is going through a period of expansion and we could point to a number of companies investing considerable sums in new premises and expanding coverage. Toyo, though, is probably one of the few manufacturers talking so positively of expansion. What makes Toyo such a strong developer at this stage? There are probably a number of contributory factors, says Martin Sutherland, In the last fiscal year to 2003 we had our best ever results in terms of income and in terms of unit sales. In a market said to have declined by 2 per cent we saw an across the board increase of 12 per cent. That includes passenger car, 4x4, light truck and truck tyres. In high performance car tyres we saw a 37 per cent increase in sales. Winning volume and value in todays tyre market is an uphill struggle, competing against established brands and in some sectors having to fend off price-led competition from the far east means that a 12 per cent increase is no mean feat. What do you attribute the success to? Without doubt, says Martin Sutherland, Much of our success is due to the quality of the marketing campaigns we have established over the years. Mike Rignall came to Toyo with the remit to redevelop our marketing and to increase brand awareness and he has done an excellent job in raising our profile in the trade and with the consumer. The way we have marketed the brand is now paying dividends for us. We established a policy of exclusivity for dealers and we have stuck to that policy and we have ensured that our availability is good.
Continue ReadingSmarTire targets recreational vehicles
SmarTire has launched tyre pressure monitoring systems specifically aimed at the recreational vehicle, towed vehicle and trailer markets. The RV market is worth $12.3 billion in the USA and is growing. A recent study showed that 80 per cent of RVs had at least one tyre that was under-inflated and a third of these were dangerously under-inflated to the point of being at risk of failure.
Continue ReadingTyrespot bucks the trend with retreads
We hear a lot today about the demise of the retread industry, especially the car tyre sector, and a lot of tyre dealers have stopped stocking retreads, preferring instead to carry cheap new tyres. Against this background, it is refreshing to learn of an independent tyre dealer who is not only still stocking retreads, but actively selling them. The company in question is Durham-based retailer and wholesaler Tyrespot, which stocks tyres from nearby manufacturer C-Tyres, and Managing Director John Shaw says that he has seen retread sales rise over the last two years and he expects to increase sales by a further ten per cent this year. He explains: We have never changed our policy towards retreads. Our experience has shown that if we stock them, we will sell them. This year we expect to sell more than 20,000 retreaded tyres through our retail and wholesale business, proving that it has been well worthwhile sticking with the product. John Shaw points out that much of Tyrespots growth has been achieved in market niches, emphasising the opportunities open to dealers willing to target and work at these markets. He says: Although sales of 80 series retreads have stagnated, we have seen substantial growth in sales of retreads for 4x4 vehicles as well as increased demand for 65, 55 and 50 series tyres. It is clear that there is a large potential market for the sale of retreaded tyres to younger drivers who want to make sure that they are legal and who see the economic benefits offered by retreads. In addition, we are looking closely at the opportunities presented by retreads within the winter tyre market. As a result, we are well on the way to a record year of retread sales.
Continue ReadingAwards for Hayes Lemmerz
Hayes Lemmerz South Africa was recently named as a Volkswagen Supplier of the Year. This is the latest in a string of awards, which includes the Nissan SA Quality Achievement Award, Supplier of the Year nomination from Toyota SA, the Q1 Award from Ford and TUV Rheinland TS16949 quality certification. Located near Johannesburg, the company manufactures cast wheels. Hayes Lemmerzs facility in Brazil was also recently awarded the Q1 Award from Ford.
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