ZC Rubber has entered into a strategic partnership with electric vehicle manufacturer Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co Ltd (Leapmotor) to deepen their mutual cooperation in the automotive sector. ZC Rubber doesn’t share specific details about this new cooperation but notes that it builds upon the tyre maker’s role as “one of the most important original equipment partners of Leapmotor.”
The relationship between Shandong Linglong Tire and vehicle manufacturer Geely Auto Group has deepened with the signing of a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement. Guan Yu, vice president of Geely Auto, and Wang Feng, chairman of Linglong Tire, signed the agreement on 26 August.
Falken has signed a cooperation agreement with DriveTribe, the online automotive platform founded by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The partnership is for a period of three months and Falken says content is king, with the main focus being on content production. While Falken provides the motorsports and test platforms, Richard Hammond is producing a range of material for the DriveTribe channels.
Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Company have will partner in the production of light commercial vehicles after announcing the first formal agreements in “a broad alliance”. The alliance does not involve cross-ownership between the two companies.
At the global partner conference held at its headquarters in Hangzhou, China on 17 July, ZC Rubber celebrated its 60th anniversary together with more than 1,000 partners from around the world.
Qingdao Doublestar Rubber and Plastics Machinery Co. Ltd., the sister company of tyre manufacturer Qingdao Doublestar, has expanded its cooperation with well-known German tyre manufacturing equipment manufacturer HF TireTech Group.
On 22 October, Pirelli, Rosneft and Synthos signed a further Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the next phase of their synthetic rubber cooperation. The MoU refers to the approval of the results of an initial feasibility study begun in April regarding the development of a synthetic rubber plant construction project in Nakhodka. The document was signed during the Fourth Eurasian Forum in Verona by Rosneft chairman of the management board Igor Sechin, Pirelli executive vice chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, and Synthos majority stakeholder Michal Solowow.
Mobivia and Point S have agreed a procurement alliance. According to the two companies, this strategic alliance will cover the listing and sourcing of the products ranges purchased by both Groups – that is tyres and car parts – for the markets they cover. However, while the two organisations are working together in terms of purchasing, under the terms of the alliance each group remains autonomous when it comes to the management of its network, policies and development.
In answer to questions from Tyres & Accessories, Chinese manufacturer Triangle has verified that it is in a “long-term cooperation” with Goodyear, confirming earlier suggestions of business connections between the two companies.
During the course of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Marco Pirelli CEO Tronchetti Provera and Igor Sechin (chairman of the majority of Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft) announced that their companies had deepened the partnership entered into in late 2012.
Kumho Tire and Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. are to enhance their recent partnership. Following the news that the two parties would cooperate in December 2013, Business Korea reports that Kumho and Yokohama are upgrading their agreement.
In a statement released today, Point S Development has confirmed the March 2014 cancellation of the master franchise contract signed with shareholders in the Netherlands in 2010. A new Dutch headquarters, Point S Holland, has now been created. The statement arrives a day after Wim Reijmerink – managing director of the now defunct Point S Nederland operation – told Tyres & Accessories that a number of former partners were holding discussions to form their own tyre dealer cooperative.
For many years Point S Development has been coated in the glossy sheen of constant growth, but now a scratch has appeared in this growth story – and more than a dab of polish is needed to buff it out. The organisation’s Dutch operation is in acute danger of splitting in two as many local Point S partners consider the return on their master franchise fee too low, they see too little support coming from the company’s international headquarters and no real “European strategy”, and they wish to renegotiate their contracts. But the two shareholders in Point S Development – the national Point S organisations in France and Germany – appear uninterested in revising terms and conditions in the Netherlands, and therefore some Dutch partners are negotiating new franchise contracts elsewhere. Should Point S partners in other markets follow suit, we may see a process that results in no winners, rather only losers.
Russian oil major, Rosneft has bought into Pirelli, taking control of 50 per cent of the holding group controlling Pirelli and a 13 per cent share of the tyre maker itself. The purchase makes the Russian group the largest single shareholder in Pirelli. The deal is being characterised as a solidification of the company’s partnership with Rosneft in Russia, which is seen as a access route to the emerging market for the tyremaker. However, Pirelli’s share price had fallen 2.24 per cent in response to the news (correct at time of publication).
No names have been mentioned, but Starco says some of the largest OEM trailer manufacturers have selected and approved its new Starco 5Jx13 alloy wheel for their products – predominantly on horse boxes and boat trailers. Starco developed its alloy wheel range in close cooperation with these OEM customers in order to develop an end product that satisfies each firm’s personal taste and style.
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