ZC Rubber has named Martin Wells as the company’s new European managing director and president of ZC Technical Center and Global OE. Meanwhile, Jörn Tietjens has been appointed as senior key account manager/senior automotive engineer of the European ZC Technical Center.
Mercedes-AMG is fitting 18-inch Continental SportContact 7 tyres to its C43 model. Designed for speeds of up to 186 mph and bearing the XL marking for enhanced load capacity, the tyres also carry the M01 sidewall marking, which appears on all the tyres specially developed for AMG. Continental developed this UUHP (Ultra Ultra High Performance) tyre specifically for vehicles with sporty attributes as well as for super sports cars.
During the recent Tire Cologne event, Tyres & Accessories met with Hankook Europe’s top management including president and chief operating officer Sanghoon Lee; Dietmar Olbrich, vice president of marketing and sales at Hankook Germany; Byung Ryong Lee, vice president of marketing strategy in Europe; Guy Heywood, vice president sales, marketing and business strategy for truck and bus tyres in Europe; vice president of European Technical Centre, Klaus Krause; Massimo Cialone, chief specialist for compounding and materials.
Sailun Tire Americas is planning to open a US technical centre in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA that will develop tyres for passenger, light truck, SUV, CUV and medium truck tyres applications as well as tyres for electric vehicles. Tyre developed there will ultimately end up at both OE and replacement destinations.
In October, Yokohama announced that the company had appointed ex-Pirelli and ex-Prometeon executive Gregorio Borgo as its European president. Roughly nine months later, there are a number of indications that the European business is entering a new chapter, which includes plans to invest in the construction of a factory “in the heart of Europe”.
Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) and Dow recently announced that they have partnered to develop B-Seals, a silicone-based tyre sealant. According to the two companies, B-Seals can be efficiently separated from tyres to promote tyre repairability after a puncture. In addition, the technology is designed to enable end-of-life tyre recycling and extended tyre life.
Pirelli has doubled the total number of tyre approvals on electric and plug-in hybrid cars in 2021. According to the company, car manufacturers are increasingly choosing this technology and have allowed Pirelli to expand the homologation portfolio to more than 250 total homologations on ‘green’ cars since the launch of the ‘Elect’ EV-specific marking in 2019. For example, the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept, exhibited in the Pirelli stand at the “Tire Cologne”.
Solicitors Slater and Gordon has announced that an out of court settlement has been reached in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation, whereby £193m will be made to the claimants by the Volkswagen Group, plus a separate contribution towards the Claimants’ legal costs and fees.
Electric vehicles are expected to account for more than 33 per cent of new car sales worldwide by 2031, according to new research compiled by GlobalData.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales have reached record numbers in recent years, with annual sales projected to increase ten-fold in the next 15 years, especially in China and Europe, due to favourable policies and auto manufacturer commitments, according to GlobalData.
Mercedes-Benz AG has selected Bridgestone as the tyre development partner for its Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX. The outcome? Bridgestone engineers collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to create custom-designed tyres to contribute to a real-world range of 1,000km on a single charge. According to Bridgestone, collaboration on this project “sets the stage for the future of EV tyres and is underpinned by a shared EV-ready vision between the companies.”
Bridgestone’s VX-Tractor tyres have been approved for selected New Holland T6 and T7 Series tractors within the UK and Ireland. 28 sizes are currently available in diameters of 28 to 42 inches as factory fit. The tyre comes with a full 10-year warranty.
Pirelli will supply P Zero Elect tyres to BMW for its iX electric SUV and specifically for the xDrive50 and sportier M60 versions. P Zero Elect tires are available for the BMW iX xDrive50 version in 255/50 R21 109Y XL and 275/40 R22 107Y XL sizes, with the latter size also available for the M60. All these tyres are marked with a star to indicate homologation for BMW. Pirelli’s OE supply range includes a 22-inch BMW iX tyre with even more grip than the other two. This tyre has an “I” on the side, in addition to the star marking.
With the latest SMMT data naming the Tesla Model 3 as the most popular new-car in December as well as the second most popular in 2021 – no-one can deny that the era of electric vehicles is well and truly upon. However, while internal combustion engines (ICE) have generally separated engine, wheel and tyre, electric vehicles are bringing these vital mobility components closer together than ever.
On 6 January REE Automotive announced the appointment of David Goldberg as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO). Effective Feb 2022, Goldberg joins REE from Magna International, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, where he is currently senior vice president of corporate development, following a role as vice president of finance and corporate development at the company.
Vesevo has been awarded Hardware Innovation of the Year in the Automotive Testing Technology International Awards. According to the company, the VESevo system won thanks to its hardware which offers detailed analysis of the quality of tyres and predicts their interaction with the vehicle – offering advantages, above all, in safety, performance, and quality control.
ZC Rubber
Continental
Tyre Industry Publications Ltd
Sailun Tire Americas
Bridgestone
Pirelli
Bridgestone
Bridgestone
Pirelli
REE
REE; Jason Cipparrone
Vesevo; Megaride