Tyre service and maintenance provider ATS Euromaster is investing in its mobile van fleet to meet growing demand for mobile servicing. It reports having added 30 vans to its fleet so far this year and anticipates the arrival of more vehicles before the end of 2021, bringing the total fleet to 155 mobile vans.
5.5 million drivers took advantage of the government’s six-month MOT extension between April and July 2020. This caused a rush for MOT slots between September and January last year and the same is set to happen again as garages prepare for what some are calling “super September”. On top of all that, nearly 1 million new cars registered between September 2018 and January 2019 are set for their first MOT. As a result, some sources are predicting 16 per cent more MOTs in September 2021 than the year before and 29 per cent more in October. And, of course, more MOTs mean more tyre and fast-fit business. But this is just part of the story, there are also growing signs of pent-up tyre demand hidden in the details of the MOT data.
ATS Euromaster is warning that vehicle and supply shortages plus a surge in demand for MOTs and servicing could force vehicles off the road if motorists and fleets do not plan their vehicle maintenance.
As with the other sources, 2020 data collected by ATS Euromaster shows a significant rise in MOT activity from May onwards but peaking in mid-September through to mid-November as drivers rushed to get MOTs completed following the covid MOT extension.
With a pandemic, an MOT extension and three lockdowns to contend with, describing the last year as “difficult” would be an understatement. Nevertheless, tyre retailers have demonstrated that they are not only key workers essential to keeping the British Isles rolling, but also versatile and resilient businesspeople during the last 12 months. A quick look at the top 25 UK tyre retail chains 2021 table reveals that it has been a more eventful year than normal in terms of branch openings and closings, but overall the clear message is one of consolidation. As a result, the top 25 UK tyre retail chains wield more power than ever. Specifically, the top 25 now run 2528 branches between them. When our coverage of this area began back at the end of the 2008/2009 tax year, the figure was 1978. During the interim, the rough estimate for the total number of tyre retailers national has stayed stable at around 10,000 specialists (that number is roughly double that if you include general garages). This means the top 25 occupy roughly 25 per cent of the number of branches, up 6 percentage points since 2009.
Multi-brand commercial fleet specialist Tructyre is part of the global Michelin group and Euromaster family. As is the case for many companies, Tructyre has found the past 12 months challenging, and it has focused on managing the impacts of the pandemic and helping to keep customers moving throughout the crisis.
It is often said that this is the busiest week of the year for the nation’s firefighters. While 5 November 2020 looks likely to be an outlier in this regard thanks to the new national restrictions to counter rising Covid-19 infections, there’s no more appropriate time of year to follow up our previous looks at the tyre demands of police forces with a similar analysis of the fire service. T&A made Freedom of Information requests to the largest, by number of full-time firefighters, UK fire services earlier in 2020, asking for such data as: tyres bought and replaced, the fleet size and vehicle parc, minimum tread depth at change, and whether tyres were regrooved and/or retreaded. The latter is probably the easiest question to answer, as eight fire services told T&A that they do not retread their tyres versus zero who do.
It’s two years since Michelin began merging the Tructyre commercial vehicle tyre and service business it acquired in 2017 with its ATS Euromaster heavy tyre operation. Tructyre reports it is now in the process of removing the ATS logo from its service vans and other branded items in order to create a more unique brand identity. In future, the ATS moniker will only be used in the UK by the Michelin-owned car and van tyre and service specialist, ATS Euromaster.
Nationwide Fleet Services (NFS) has appointed a new national sales manager for the UK and Ireland, with the appointment of 38-year-old Ricky Mitchell to the role national sales manager effective from October 2020.
As part of the Fleet feature within the June edition of Tyres & Accessories, we investigated the various tyre demands of leading Police fleets. Amongst other things, we found that Kent Police are the most tyre-hungry and that – despite being contracted to basically two manufacturers under the Crown Commercial Service agreement – such fleets are actually surprisingly open to competing tyre manufacturers. With this in mind, and continuing our series analysing Police fleet tyre preferences, this month we take a closer look at Metropolitan Police fleet tyre demand.
Michelin has signed a new tyre supply agreement with one of Europe’s largest asset finance, leasing and rental specialists. The tyre manufacturer’s Services & Solutions division will supply all tyres to BNP Paribas Rental Solutions’ UK fleet. It will also fully manage the nationwide fleet of specialist mission-critical vehicles. Its vehicles have individual policies tailored to meet the needs of BNP Paribas Rental Solutions’ customers.
Continuing our series investigating UK Police fleet tyre demand, we looked a little closer at the differences between the various regional forces tyre preferences. Despite the fact that, as we have seen, tyre purchasing is based on a national framework agreement, there was a surprising amount of variety in both tyre policy and what actually happened when the rubber hit the road, so to speak.
During recent weeks and months, the coronavirus lockdown has seen miles-driven figures fall through the floor. However, some fleets don’t stop moving. And, as anyone who has clapped for our carers will tell you, the blue-light services have been as busy as ever. Of course, the medics, police and firefighters rely on tyre technicians to keep them mobile. So, with this in mind, and as part our June magazine’s Fleet Tyre feature, we have been investigating what the blue light fleet’s tyre demand really looks like.
Independent parcel carrier Yodel is rolling out a new generation of tyres designed to maximise the safety and mobility of its delivery vans in all weathers, including on dry, wet, icy and snow-covered roads. The Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tyres will initially be fitted across Yodel’s fleet of 550 Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, directly supporting the firm’s ability to deliver on-time to every UK postcode. Their introduction forms part of a new three-year fully-managed Effitires contract with Michelin, which also covers Yodel’s 1,326 rigid trucks, tractor units and trailers – which will all continue to run on premium Michelin tyres.
Vaculug has announced that Marcus Kirkness, has joined the well-known independent retreader as fleet operations manager. Kirkness brings with him years of experience at ATS Euromaster.
BookMyGarage.com
Kwik Fit
Fallschirmjäger
Nationwide Fleet Services 
Photo: Dom J; Pexels
Michelin
Statista; Tyre Industry Publications Ltd
Goodyear; HiQ [@HiQAutocare] via Twitter)
Michelin