Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has selected Continental tyres as an original equipment fitment for the fully electric RPV 500 and RPV 700 delivery vans it developed for online retailer Amazon. For the North American market, Rivian Prime Vans are equipped with size LT245/70 R16 VanContact A/S all-season tyres ex works.
Bridgestone Corporation is working to incorporate additional sustainability into its business model. Alongside plans to establish and build up a recycling business, retreading remains a key part of these efforts and features in the company’s plans to invest 700 billion yen (£4.6 billion) in strategic resources by 2023. To expand retreading activities, Bridgestone is looking at other segments besides commercial truck and OTR tyre retreading.
In the USA, largescale garage chain Monro Inc. has completed the rollout of its collaboration with Amazon.com to provide tyre installation services at all of its 1,200+ store locations in 32 states.
Mopar, Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA)’s spares, parts and service operation, has announced that it will be selling its products online on Amazon Marketplace. Mopar will be the first Automaker in Italy to sell its products through this platform. According to the company, it is a new way to respond to the needs of increasingly more technological and digitised customers.
October has been a tumultuous month for US tyre distribution. First ATD filed for Chapter 11 during the first week of the month. Then, less than two week’s later Sears, which includes Sears Autocentres (itself one just two major tyre installation partners for Amazon), also applied for bankruptcy protection. Now market analysts are asking if Amazon is planning to buy ATD.
On Monday 15 October 2018 Sears Holdings Corporation, the 132-year-old US retailer known for selling everything to everyone, filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Southern District of New York.
This year Amazon really stepped up its presence in the tyre space, especially in the USA where the company is now dominant across online retail in general. To be specific, a whopping 50 per cent of everything bought online is from Amazon. But these figures are not just an American phenomenon. In the UK, 33 per cent of online retail is conducted through Amazon. This makes Amazon the fifth biggest retailer in the UK, just behind the big supermarkets. The point is that, now we know Amazon is moving into the tyre space, anything that is happening in the US has resonance in the UK market as well.
Amazon has launched a developer kit that makes it possible to integrate the company’s Alexa into car infotainment systems. In addition to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, drivers now have a third option for navigation, streaming songs, making calls and finding restaurants, gas stations and hotels. Alexa as part of the infotainment system eliminates the need to plug a mobile device into the car.
In the USA, Sears Auto Center is expanding its tyre installation and balancing programme for customers who purchase tyres on Amazon.com. Initially launched in May at 47 Sears Auto Centers in eight metropolitan areas, the ship-to-store option for buying tyres is now available nationwide including Alaska and Hawaii.
US-based vehicle servicing chain Sears Auto Center is now working with Amazon.com to provide full-service tyre installation and balancing for customers who purchase any brand of tyres on Amazon.com. The service will be rolled out across the USA over the coming weeks. In addition, Sears Auto’s own ‘DieHard’ all-season passenger tyre brand has been introduced on Amazon.com.
The global e-commerce automotive aftermarket is largely consolidated with the presence of a few key companies that hold majority of the market share, according to report published in January by Transparency Market Research. This being the case, the automotive aftermarket’s forays into e-commerce are expected to boost sales in the years to come.
In a joint promotion with Amazon.co.uk, Pirelli is offering a gift certificate to purchase an Amazon Kindle when purchasing two or more 17” or above Pirelli tyres. The promotion, designed to foreground technology, is available to customers at all of the manufacturer’s 95 nationwide Pirelli Performance Centres.
Amazon.com customers can now choose from a catalogue of over 10,000 wheels after the online retailer, originally known for taking the lead in web-based book and CD sales, announced the launch of its Wheels Store (www.amazon.com/wheels). The site also offers a range of roughly 12,500 mainly motorbike and car tyres.
According the company, the store showcases a vast selection from top brands like American Racing, Dip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., KMC, Mickey Thompson, Sacchi, Konig and Veloche. As in the Amazon.com Automotive Store, customers looking for wheels will discover the Automotive Part Finder, a powerful search tool that helps customers quickly find the wheels guaranteed to fit their specific year, make and model.
