Sales up till July seem to be in line with last year’s strong performance. Ford is one of the winners, GM is stagnating and Chrysler heavily losing market share. BMW, Porsche and some of the Japanese and Korean car manufacturers are performing particularly well.
The new Eagle NCT 5, introduced to the trade press at Goodyear’s own South of France test track in Mireval in mid-February, is a high-performance tyre in speed categories from H (up to 210 km/h) to Y (up to 300 km/h) with the emphasis on comfort. The manufacturer claims that the new type of tyre, immediately available in more than 20 sizes, is an improvement on its predecessor, the NCT 3 – sometimes to a very considerable extent – in braking on dry and wet roads or aquaplaning both in straight-line driving or cornering. The new product is aimed at an interesting growth market. 52 million tyres of speed index H and faster are currently sold in Europe per year, and this segment already covers 28 p.c. of the market (186 million tyres). The market share of high-performance tyres in Germany is about 35 p.c. at the moment, but still rising strongly. In the new NCT 5 Goodyear’s tyre developers had ecological qualities especially in mind. Compared with its predecessor the newly developed tyre can boast rolling resistance reduced by 20 p.c. and optimised tyre noise. In addition to the reduced rolling resistance which, according to the manufacturer, saves up to 5 p.c. in fuel, the NCT 5’s mileage is said to be improved by up to 25 p.c. In naming this new tyre Goodyear quite deliberately skipped the number 4, since the Far East, one of the target markets for the NCT 5, regards the number 4 as a symbol of impending disaster.
ContiTech Air Spring Systems, a business unit of Continental AG’s ContiTech group, announced a “Letter of Intent” for founding a joint venture company with South Korean company Dae Won Kang to build up a plant for producing complete air spring systems. Dae Won Kang’s market share in this field in Korea is nearly 100 per cent.
It is a well-known fact that Bridgestone does not stint itself in its Formula One commitment. For instance: The number of tyres carted to every race is 2,640 in two different compounds for dry and three different compounds for wet weather. Together with the costs of research and development plus marketing/advertising (which definitely accounts for the highest expenditure) it may amount to a nine-figure sum. In this context one has to ask: Cui bono? Or: Why do the Japanese involve themselves in Formula One at all? The current market share of the tyre giant in Europe is estimated to be about twelve per cent, therefore leaving room for further growth. And what would be more suitable for a Far Eastern tyre group keen to catch up in the lucrative European market than its omnipresence in the most important motor racing event worldwide (only in USA Formula One is met with relatively little interest)? When all is said and done: twelve of the 16 races are run on European soil. Takeshi Uchiyama, Managing Director of BS/FS Europe, describes his company’s objective, “We are determined to raise our global brand awareness”.To put it simply: If the Bridgestone logo is clearly visible every fortnight adorning streamers, bridges, vehicles, overalls, drivers’ caps and, last but not least, all the tyres, that must sooner or later penetrate the memory or consciousness of the mass media public. Ideally it also raises significantly the image of the brand as a low-profile quality tyre. And once this perception takes hold and people’s high opinion is tranferred to other segments, this reputation will not only benefit the high-performance segment but also other types of tyre.
Bridgestone is optimistic that it will achieve its stated target of a 20% market share worldwide during next year. The group aims to be number one, or at least number two, in each market. As far as distribution is concerned, the focus is very much on the ‘First Stop’ franchise system. In a background briefing, high-ranking Bridgestone managers revealed that the company’s main goal is to become the dominant player in the world tyre market, regardless of the actions of main competitors Goodyear and Michelin. At present, Bridgestone operates 44 tyre factories in 22 countries around the world.
Toyota is aiming for a ten per cent market share in China within five to ten years. The Chinese market is characterised by over-production, price wars and low margins.
