Michelin becomes world’s most valuable tyre brand
The Michelin brand’s value has grown some 30 per cent to US$7.9 billion in the latest Brand Finance Tyres 10 ranking. As a result Bibendum is now the world’s most valuable tyre brand.
The Michelin brand’s value has grown some 30 per cent to US$7.9 billion in the latest Brand Finance Tyres 10 ranking. As a result Bibendum is now the world’s most valuable tyre brand.
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) has begun 2018 with the launch of new tyre products into its distribution line-up, with plans to grow the product lines throughout the year. As well as a new Falken tyre, the wholesaler will commence the distribution of the Sumitomo brand, as discussed with Tyres & Accessories in December, with the BC100 pattern.
Further to news from Micheldever wholesale director Alan Baldwin that the Sumitomo tyre brand is coming to the UK and Europe and will be positioned as an entry-level mid-range brand beneath the Falken brand, the sales director for Falken Tyre Europe’s replacement market business in Germany has shared details on the range heading our way.
As we go to print on the December issue of Tyres & Accessories, Micheldever Group is marking a year since Sumitomo Rubber Industries, manufacturer of Falken Tyres for which MTS is UK distributor, bought the UK tyre distributor from previous owner Graphite Capital Management. While the sale was not unexpected, the identity of the new owner may have been somewhat surprising, though SRI’s investment in Falken Tyre Europe following the late-2015 dissolution of its alliance agreement with Goodyear makes the acquisition of a leading distributor a logical move. For Micheldever’s board, SRI was said to be an attractive new owner, with the presumption that it would offer offering longevity, stability, and consistency; as a large, well-established, high quality top-six tyre manufacturer seeking to broaden its knowledge of UK distribution with an already successful business.
Looking back on one of the major events in its calendar, Falken has posted a video reviewing its participation in the 2017 Nürburgring 24 Hours. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries brand expanded its entry at this year’s event with a new BMW M6 joining the Falken Motorsports Porsche 911.
Sumitomo Rubber reports that the company has developed a new tyre-sensing technology called Sensing Core. Sensing Core is designed to detect road conditions, tyre load and other information by analyzing the wheel speed signals that are generated by the rotation of the tyres. Sumitomo says the technology will play a role in the advancement of autonomous vehicle technology.
Sumitomo Rubber USA has bought 6.4 acres of brownfield land adjacent to its tyre manufacturing site in Tonawanda. According to the New York State-based Buffalo News, Sumitomo’s new land used to be home to a chemical plant that was destroyed by a fire nearly 30 years ago.
Falken will line up on the Nürburgring Nordschliefe grid with two premium German racing cars for the first time, adding a BMW M6 GT3 to the Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 991), which debuted at the 2016 event. Falken’s Porsche was the fastest in the 24 hour race, finishing in ninth place overall. Falken will enter both cars in various VLN endurance races as well as the Green Hell event; the team says competing with two different but current GT3 vehicle marques is unusual, but confirms the depth of experience of Falken’s tyre engineers and the wide-ranging performance of the tyres. Falken’s long-term partner, Schnabl Engineering, will supervise and support the two vehicles throughout the season.
Falken will show its most energy-efficient tyre to date for electric and hybrid vehicles and launch its 2017 race car when the Sumitomo brand exhibits for the first time at the Geneva International Motor Show on 7-19 March 2017 (Hall 6, Booth 6238, Palexpo).
Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ global brand Falken has won the Tire Technology of the Year Award at the annual awards for innovation and excellence. An independent panel of 27 international tyre industry experts presented the brand’s Advanced 4D Nano Design technology, the latest development of the pioneering work debuted by SRI in 2014, with the accolade on 15 February 2017 at the Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany.
On 5 January, Micheldever announced that it was being purchased by Sumitomo Rubber Industries of Japan (the company behind Falken, one of Micheldever’s key exclusive brands). While it was no surprise that the business had been sold, the idea that Sumitomo would be the successful bidder was not widely foreseen. With Micheldever having grown into a leading position in the UK wholesale sector with a multi-brand, independent retailer-focused strategy, the acquisition raises many questions for the business’s staff, suppliers and customers. With this in mind, a week after Sumitomo’s purchase Tyres & Accessories met with Micheldever managing director, Duncan Wilkes; wholesale director, Alan Baldwin; and wholesale marketing manager Rory Carlin to find out more about the background to the deal.
Since gaining a much greater degree of freedom to conduct business in North America and Europe with the dissolution of its global alliance with Goodyear in October 2015, the Sumitomo Rubber Group has striven to enhance its R&D, production and sales infrastructure to better serve these markets. As part of these efforts, the tyre maker has built a new, 3,500 square metre USA Technical Center on the grounds of its Tonawanda factory in New York State. Sumitomo Rubber Industries reports that this facility will become fully operational in January 2017. The company is also moving forward with the preparations for a Europe Technical Center, which it expects to be fully operational as of September 2017.
Falken will expand its ultra-high performance (UHP) flagship tyre, the Azenis FK510, to include SUV tyre sizes in 2017. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries global brand states that the new additions reflect the growth of the SUV market and continues the tyre manufacturer’s strategy of supplying an extensive range of products in profitable and high-growth segments. Starting in January 2017, the Azenis FK510 SUV will be available in 19 sizes ranging from 17 to 22 inches and will come with a speed rating of W or Y.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, has begun supplying high-performance Falken Ziex ZE001 A/S SUV tyres to Nissan for factory fitment on Rogue models (X-Trail in the UK and elsewhere) sold in North America. The Ziex all-season, asymmetrical tread ZE001 A/S will be fitted to the Rogue in size 25/60R18 100H.
Along with Nokian’s admission and apology for “mistakes” in its practices concerning tyre tests, the Finnish tyre manufacturer stated that “several operators in the field… have been suspected or evidence has been presented against them of differences between tyres in magazine tests and tyres that are for sale in stores.” After the Nokian statement’s implication of other tyre manufacturers in malpractice regarding independent tyre testing, Michelin immediately responded by stating categorically that it has “never designed or manufactured tyres specifically for tests conducted by the media, automobile associations or any other organisations.” Tyres & Accessories approached 11 more of the world’s leading manufacturers, many of whose products regularly appear in magazine tests, for their response to the question: Have you ever designed or manufactured tyres specifically for tests conducted by the media, automobile associations or any other organisations? Listed below are their responses.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.