A subsidiary of Volvo- and Lotus-owner Geely, London Electric Vehicle Company has awarded Davanti Tyres its first OE approval. Davanti’s DX440 light commercial van tyre has earned 100 per cent OE approval for the company’s VN5 electric van, which has now entered full production.
For the fourth year in a row, Michelin can be found at the top of Tyres & Accessories’ 2020 UK social media ranking. Indeed, such is Michelin’s dominance in the annual table, only Goodyear (in 2012) and Dunlop (in 2016) have done enough to overtake the UK arm of the French tyre brand since our research began in 2011. In both cases, Michelin still managed to take second place.
Everton FC and Davanti Tyres will continue their official brand partnership for a further three years, following the extension of their commercial partnership. The new deal was unveiled at Davanti’s first ever International Dealer Conference at Everton’s Goodison Park stadium in Liverpool on Friday, 28 February. Davanti discussed the impact of its Official Tyre Partner status with the club on global growth since the arrangement formally began in 2017, in addition to presenting further details of its 2020 plans.
The latest Davanti Tyres project, the Protoura Sport, made its Far East debut at CITExpo in August. We caught up with Michael Eckert, sales director for mainland Europe, at the show. He told us that Davanti was currently testing the Protoura Sport prior to submitting the tyre to product certification firm IDIADA. “Volume production will probably then start before the end of this year, and the first Protoura Sport tyres should arrive in Europe in March or April 2020.”
The latest Davanti project – Protoura Sport – will make its Eastern debut at CITExpo in Shanghai. After appearances at Autopromotec and Automechanika Dubai, the developmental UHP tyre will be on display at the show to give Davanti partners in China, the Far East and Australasia an opportunity to take a closer look and ask the team more about their plans for the product.
Davanti Tyres has appointed Emma Mercer as its new marketing manager. Davanti states that Mercer brings a host of transferable skills to the table in her role as marketing manager, where she will be in charge of managing the marketing of the house brands; Davanti, Landsail and Evergreen.
Two years after the brand’s launch at Autopromotec, and after two years of development, Davanti is bringing four new winter patterns to the Bologna show later this month. The Davanti team exhibiting at Autopromotec will also be larger, following the recent appointment of two key team members.
Davanti’s first full year has seen the brand engage in a broad and intensive range of sales and marketing activities, led by a rapid fire trade show appearance schedule. Interest in the brand has been quick to ignite in its UK home market. The company’s management has consistently said the wildfire-like growth of Landsail – distributed by Grouptyre member and Davanti Tyres sister wholesaler Oak Tyres, and manufactured, like all of Davanti’s current products, by Qingdao Sentury Tire – in the UK has not been the focus; according to them Davanti wants to grow in a more controlled, brand-driven manner. So far the company has certainly more than fired a warning shot across the bows of other brands operating in the highly competitive aspirational mid-range sector of the UK market, while Davanti’s recent appointment of European sales director Michael Eckert, formerly of Sailun, Hankook and Michelin in his 21-year career, demonstrates its seriousness about growing into continental Europe. So this was an excellent time for the company to host its first dealer event; a three-day Product Experience trip at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
By the time Tyres & Accessories caught up with Davanti Tyres towards the end of CITExpo, the team was looking back at a full year of trade fairs – the Shanghai show was the company’s last major exhibition for 2016. Yet although Davanti Tyres is now taking a breather from the show circuit, its work promoting the brand continues.
LEVC, Davanti Tyres
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Davanti Tyres