Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd., the well-known Japanese brake manufacturer, has admitted “inappropriate conduct” relating to periodic inspection reports destined for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) dating back to January 2001.
Billed as “the first complete simulation platform that cuts time and costs in the development and testing phases of both tyres and vehicles”, MegaRide has launched the RIDEsuite tyre simulation platform road and motorsport applications. Boasting performance enhancements of up to 30 per cent, RIDEsuite is described as a modular and multi-physical platform consisting of four applications.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Thierry Bolloré has announced that the Jaguar brand will be a 100 per cent electric vehicle marque by 2025. The announcement, which came as part of the company’s “reimagine” global announcement, also saw JLR initiate a journey to become a net zero carbon business by 2039. Specifically, Jaguar and Land Rover will offer pure electric power, nameplate by nameplate, by 2030. By this point, in addition to 100 per cent of Jaguar sales, it is anticipated that around 60 per cent of Land Rovers sold will be equipped with zero tailpipe powertrains. At the same, executives emphasised the company’s British identity and sought to differentiate between its Jaguar and Land Rover flag brands.
Until recently, the Guinness World Record for the fastest speed by a vehicle indoors stood at 86 mph. That was until Leh Keen’s Porsche Taycan Turbo S was clocked by independent adjudicators at 102.6 mph inside the New Orleans Convention Center. Keen’s all-electric Taycan Turbo S has a maximum of 750 hp, with four-wheel drive to maximize grip, powerful carbon ceramic brakes and the ability to accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill in just 2.6 seconds. And what’s more the record was set on the Taycan’s standard fitment original equipment (OE) tyres. But what tyres were they?
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) published its members’ sales for the year 2020 as well as the last quarter of 2020, reporting that Covid 19 “strong affected” the market. The Original Equipment (OE) segments were said to have been “most strongly affected”, recording reductions of -23 per cent in the consumer tyre business and -18 per cent in truck tyres. That much is logical in light of the widespread closure of vehicle manufacturing under pandemic-related lockdown conditions across Europe during 2020.
The latest temporary closure of Honda’s Swindon plant because of parts shortages could be the “tip of the iceberg” for new car supply issues in 2021, the Vehicle Remarketing Association is warning. Chair Philip Nothard said that the problem, believed to be caused by poor availability of semiconductors, was potentially a sign of things to come from all manufacturers.
Honda will next week pause car production at its factory in Swindon; the third time it has done so in a little over a month. The Japanese car manufacturer said in a statement that output would be paused from Monday to Thursday next week, the longest such pause so far. It said that global supply disruption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic was responsible for the pause.
Aluminium casting and automotive parts specialist, Citic Dicastal kicked off production at its second aluminium wheel factory in Morocco at the end of December 2020. With a budget of 350 million euros, the Chinese wheelmaker aims to double its capacity in Morocco to 6 million wheels and create a total of 1,250 jobs. According to local news reports, the Dicastal-made wheels are destined for vehicles made by the French OEM PSA Group as well as exports.
The UK new car market fell by 29.4 per cent in 2020, with annual registrations dropping to 1,631,064 units, according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today 6 January 2021. A -10.9 per cent decline in December topped off a turbulent year, which saw demand fall by 680,076 units to a near 30-year low (specifically, the lowest level of registrations since 1992).
Falken owner Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd has begun supplying Falken Azenis FK510 tyres to Toyota Motor Corporation for use as factory standard tyres on its new model Mirai, a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which went on sale this December.
The UK new car market demand fell 27.4 per cent year-on-year, or 42,840 units, according to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). With sales hit by the UK’s second lockdown, the industry recorded 113,781 new registrations, taking trade back to levels last seen during the 2008 recession.
Pirelli launched the Elect marking at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show which is designed to be available as original equipment for “the most modern cars on the road”. Now Pirelli is highlighting that the Porsche Taycan is the first car to use Pirelli Elect-marked tyres.
Giti Tire has won additional original equipment supply business with Groupe Renault after the GitiSynergyE1 was selected as OE for the new Dacia Sandero and Logan models. Production started in the Renault factories in October. The vehicles will be supplied with 185/65R15 88H tyres.
In the USA, General Motors has issued a safety recall for certain 2020 and 2021 model-year Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC pickup trucks and crossovers. According to GM, the affected vehicles were delivered with Continental brand tyres that were overcured during the manufacturing process. The news follows Continental’s recall of 12,000 Continental and General Tire branded products earlier in November. The GM recall affects over 7000 vehicles in the US market.
S. Hermann & F. Richter; Pixabay
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