Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
Following approval from antitrust authorities, the Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division has completed its takeover of Taiwan’s Unipoint Group. The parties involved in the transaction have agreed not to disclose the purchase price and report that both existing Unipoint brands – Unipoint and NSA – will be retained by Bosch.
With the first Chinese brand models set for sale in the UK and various European markets by the end of 2012, Chinese tyre manufacturers with OE-supply deals in their homeland could begin to see a very small amount of pull-through.
While some Chinese cars such as the Shanghai Automotive-owned MG brand are already driving on British roads under local monikers, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd’s Emgrand EC7 family hatchback and saloon will be something of a first when it goes on sale in the UK. Geely, which is currently mid-way through a UK dealer recruitment programme targeting 40 dealers, appears to be trying to do what Hyundai and Kia have done in recent years and build a position quickly from scratch by offering “good quality, really good value for money and a long warranty.”
Although six of the world’s top 20 largest tyre manufacturers are located in China and/or Taiwan, and despite the fact that all of these have global ambitions, for the most part these companies are still developing their positions in international markets. Likewise while reams have been written about the top names and more recently there has been increased coverage of the activities of the Korean bloc (Hankook, Kumho and Nexen), far less detail is reported about the leading Chinese players. It has to be said that this is partly because of the media’s gravitation towards well-known names but is also because – and this is something of a generalisation – Chinese manufacturers don’t have the best reputation when it comes to international communications.
Yukio Yoshida (44) has been named corporate planning director for Falken Tyre Europe, replacing Satoru Ushida, who is returning to Japan. Yoshida has held numerous posts with Falken's parent Sumitomo group since joining them in 1990, the most recent of which was sales manager for the Asian region, which includes China and Oceania.
Yasushi Tanaka, who took over as president and CEO of Yokohama Tire Corporation in July 2011, reports that parent company Yokohama Rubber is ready to commence the third phase of its ‘Grand Design 100’ plan this year, a plan he is credit as being co-architect and co-founder of. This penultimate phase is scheduled to be acted upon until 2015, when the fourth and final phase will come into effect and be carried out over a two-year period before concluding in time for the company’s centenary in 2017.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Described by its organizers – IGVision International Corporation of Shanghai – as "China's premier tyre industry conference", Tirecon Asia 2012 will take place in Shanghai on April 18-19.
Over 30 distinguished speakers from leading tyre industry companies across the globe will make presentations on a number of subjects, including prospects for the global tyre markets, forthcoming regulations and the latest advances in tyre technology.
With China accounting for about 34 per cent of global rubber demand in 2011 and with demand for cars slowing last year in the People’ Republic, the varied economic climate is proving to be a challenging environment for the countries fast growing domestic tyre manufacturers.
According to China Daily and Bloomberg reports, China's economy is forecast to grow 8.5 per cent next year, the least in 11 years, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Vehicle sales may rise by the least in 13 years in 2011, plunging from last year's record 32 per cent, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported.
In December 2011 Triangle’s retreading operation, which at this point was running at 200,000 units a year was recognised as one of Shandong Province’s top 10 “Circular Economy Demonstration Projects” by Shandong provincial government. Triangle’ rubber products centre in Weihai, Shandong Province, is also known as production base number 3. This site has the capacity to produce 10 million rubber flaps and inner tubes, 5000 tonnes of rubber powder and 500,000 retreads a year.
Triangle Tyre reports that on 28 December 2011 it was named the ‘2011 China’s Innovative Enterprise with Most Growth Potential’ at the annual China Independent Innovation Annual Conference, which was held in Beijing. The company says it attained this honour due to its “significant achievements in technology and product innovation.”
Taiwan-based tyre makers including Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. and Kenda Rubber Industrial Co., are expected to see substantial growth in earnings in the first quarter of 2012 due to declines in raw material prices, particularly natural rubber. Furthermore, according to Taiwan Economic News, the European sovereign debt crisis means tyre manufacturers have slashed inventories to get rid of the risk in the prices of stocked goods.
Workers at Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Findlay plant may still be locked out but at Cooper’s facility in Tupelo, Mississippi, employees reached one million man-hours without a lost-time incident during the course of this week. The achievement marks the second time Cooper's Tupelo employees reached the million-hour mark; in September 2010 they also passed a million hours without a lost-time case.
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