New all-season range from Vredestein
There is no doubt that the all-season tyre segment is one of the fastest-growing in the European market, and it is not difficult to see why; while some countries routinely experience extreme weather conditions in the winter months, much of the continent does not suffer to the same extent. As such, many countries - such as the UK, for example – have never developed a strong winter tyre market.
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Insurance, risk and the tyre industry: Tyrepress talks to Ben Harrison, vice president, Marsh Commercial
The majority of industries across the UK have been impacted by the effect of COVID-19 and – with up to 60 per cent of garages closed during lockdown – the tyre industry is no exception. Prevailing market conditions combined with the complexity of the pandemic’s damage means that insurers have reduced their risk exposure and overall capacity. This, combined with newer pressures on the horizon, has provided tyre companies with a rationale for bolstering their risk management measures in order to avoid costly and time-consuming slip-ups down the line. Tyres & Accessories spoke with Ben Harrison, vice president, Marsh Commercial in order to find out more.
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Research reveals ‘vital information’ relating to tyre particles…
The University of Plymouth published government-funded research into what happens to particles released from vehicle tyres back in May. This comparatively recent report – as far as academic research is concerned – was launched with no-small media fanfare amid claims that tyres “could be a significant and previously largely unrecorded source of microplastics in the marine environment”. Be that as it may, the research also highlighted a number of significant knowledge gaps in this field of research.
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Bridgestone Turanza Eco gets VW Golf 8 original equipment approval
Bridgestone Turanza Eco tyres have become an original equipment for Volkswagen’s eighth generation Golf. The new model includes a number of cutting-edge technologies, such as a semi-autonomous mode and a new suspension technology improving its handling and driving dynamics. The custom-designed Turanza Eco tyres add to this technological focus. They are designed to enhance the Golf 8’s upgraded driving dynamics, with the tyre manufacturer’s Enliten Technology reducing rolling resistance, weight, and materials consumption. VW has also approved Nexen’s N’blue S and Winguard Sport 2, and Vredestein’s Sportrac 5 and Wintrac Pro tyres as OE for different iterations of the Golf 8. Click here to learn more about Bridgestones Enliten Technology
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SUV tyre prices in the corona context: Channel makes more difference than brand
4x4 tyre sales may have fallen due to the effects of coronavirus and lockdown, but prices in certain key sizes are actually higher than they were before those challenges presented themselves at the start of the year. Tyres & Accessories spoke to tyre market and pricing data experts Encircle Marketing in order to find out more. This article will appear in full in the September edition of Tyres & Accessories. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
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Transaid ambassadors to ride 500km route virtually to raise vital funds
Transaid ambassadors Guy Heywood (Hankook) and Marcio Bonifacio (Z Tech Control Systems) are determined to raise vital funds for the charity despite the pandemic-enforced postponement of two major cycling events. The pair will complete the planned 507km route of the 2020 Transaid Malawi Challenge virtually between Wednesday 9 and Sunday 13 September. They will use SMART bike trainers and the Zwift cycling app from their homes in Frankfurt and Cambridge to simulate 10km of climbing and between 15 and 18 hours of riding. Heywood told Tyres & Accessories that the pair are trying to raise enough in sponsorship to buy two cycle ambulances or to fund a health care worker in Africa for one year. Thanks to the technology, Heywood assured T&A that the riders would “suffer suitably to justify any support given!” Click here to support Guy and Marcio in helping Transaid to continue its mobility and new health projects in Sub Saharan Africa, including new initiatives focusing on Covid-19, gender-based violence and malaria.
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Laufenn launch makes Hankook more holistic commercial tyre supplier
The launch of the second-line Laufenn brand onto the European commercial vehicle tyre market has rounded out Hankook’s offer to fleet customers. Offering a second tier brand – alongside a growing retreading programme via its Alphatread range – can both allow the manufacturer a more extensive product range to cater to each customer’s entire fleet, and also allow Hankook to capitalise on the growing interest in more value-oriented products. The new tyres, which give Laufenn itself impressive market coverage, also help to emphasise one of Hankook’s competitive advantages; the proportion of products under three years old in its TBR portfolio. The timing of the launch could also help to address the economic strife felt by the logistics sector in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Featured in the September issue of Tyres & Accessories, we spoke with Guy Heywood, Hankook’s European marketing and strategy director for its truck and bus business, and UK sales director Paul Emery about how the introduction of Laufenn will help to develop the tyre manufacturer’s commercial business in the UK and Europe. This article will appear in full in the September edition of Tyres & Accessories. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
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4×4 tyre sales down 6%
4x4 retail tyre sales have long been a growth area and the UK market constitutes one of the leading lights in Europe. More recent growth has been driven by similarly strong SUV vehicle sales as well as consumer switches towards all-season products. At the same time, more practical and off-road-orientated vehicles have also been supporting 4x4 tyre sales. This article will appear in full in the September edition of Tyres & Accessories. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
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Sumitomo South Africa produces new Dunlop-branded truck tyre
Produced at its Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa truck and bus radial tyre manufacturing plant, Sumitomo Dunlop has launched a new drive-axle truck tyre. Locally researched, produced and tested, the SP835A is described as a “game changer”.
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Nokian launches Intuitu agricultural tyre monitoring system in Finland
Nokian Tyres has launched the Intuitu agricultural tyre monitoring system (introduced at Agritechnica 2019) in Finland. Nokian Tyres Intuitu uses sensor-equipped smart tyres and a smartphone app to get tyre pressure and temperature data on your phone. Nokian Tyres has launched the Intuitu agricultural tyre monitoring system (introduced at Agritechnica 2019) in Finland. Nokian Tyres Intuitu uses sensor-equipped smart tyres and a smartphone app to get tyre pressure and temperature data on your phone.
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Michelin coordinates 16 million euro BlackCycle tyre circular economy project
Michelin is coordinating 7 industrial partners, 5 Research & Technological Organizations (RTOs) and an innovation cluster into a European consortium designing pioneering processes to produce new tyres from end-of-life tyres (ELTs). The project, called BlackCycle owing to its focus on developing a circular economy for tyres, is run across five countries.
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Australia’s National Tyre & Wheel grows through Tyres 4U acquisition
With its AU$48.7 million (£26.7 million) acquisition of Tyres 4U assets in Australia and New Zealand, National Tyre & Wheel becomes one of the region’s largest tyre wholesalers and the largest independent, multi-branded wholesaler in both countries. The transaction was finalised in August and more than doubles National’s distribution centre footprint in the two countries, with its nine company-owned and four third-party facilities complemented by 11 Tyres 4U centres in Australia and three in New Zealand. Combined tyre volume for the Australian financial year ending 30 June 2020 exceeded 2.5 million units, with a revenue of $450 million (£247 million).
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BASF partners with New Energy in tyre-derived oil project
BASF SE has signed an uptake supply agreement with New Energy, which specializes waste tyre pyrolysis and is headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. According to the agreement, New Energy will supply BASF with up to 4,000 metric tonnes of pyrolysis oil per year derived from waste tyres. In a pilot phase, the first volumes of the pyrolysis oil have already been used in BASF’s integrated chemical production site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
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Low performing car tyres illegal from 1 May 2021
On 7 August the government shared some results from its recent type approval consultation. That four-week consultation period came to an end on 26 June 2020 and sought views from across the automotive industry relating to what statutory instrument should supersede European type approval Regulation (EU) 2018/858, which covers new vehicle safety. The result? Low performing car tyres and van tyres will be illegal from 1 May 2021. The government type approval consultation supports 30-month grace period for running down such stocks. And OBD ports will remain open for independent garages to access repair and maintenance information.
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Ecobat gains NI presence through Easystart acquisition
Following its purchase of Easystart Ireland last month, Ecobat Battery Technologies (Ecobat) is opening a new branch in Northern Ireland. The branch is located in Crumlin, Co Antrim and will be headed by Colin Watterson, managing director of Easystart since its founding in 2016 and a 20-year battery industry veteran. He will be joined by two Easystart colleagues, Jim Brennan and David McNeill.
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