Hankook Tyre UK is an official partner to two significant trucking events this year, the Devon Truck Show and Cornwall Truck Gathering. The tyre maker considers the shows, which focus on commercial transport solutions, an excellent opportunity to exhibit products from its truck tyre portfolio and to liaise with new and existing fleet operatives and owners.
SMMT figures show that the new light commercial vehicle market grew by 85.5 per cent in March with 56,122 vans joining UK roads with the ’21 new number plate. Usually one of the busiest months of the year, March saw the largest-ever increase since the switch to the two plate system in 1999, but one which still represented an -10.9 per cent decrease when compared to the pre-pandemic 2015-2019 average, as prolonged nationwide lockdown continued to suppress business confidence in the first quarter of the year.
Kumho has a new tyre for the European van and light commercial vehicle segment. Introducing the Kumho PorTran 4S CX11, the tyre maker says its newcomer combines the strengths of the Solus 4S HA32 all-season passenger car pattern and its existing winter specification van tyre, the Winter PorTran CW11. The result, says Kumho, is a tyre that “ensures safe, secure driving and excellent braking performance throughout the year.
Scottish tyre dealer Easityre has moved its fleet of wholesale delivery vans onto a Michelin Agilis CrossClimate policy having found the tyres to last twice as long as rival premium brand fitments. Operating from two locations in Fife and Tayside, the independent dealer distributes tyres to the motor trade throughout east and central Scotland.
Giti Tyre’s GitiSynergyH2 has been selected for a second original equipment fitment on the VW Caddy 5. The tyre, currently supplied to the OE segment, is the company’s first to achieve an AA rating on the EU tyre label. The 205/60R16 XL 96H GitiSynergyH2 joins 215/55R17 XL 98H as a second size option on the production line of one of the best-selling commercial vehicles in Europe.
Bridgestone has looked to the past, present and the future in developing its most comprehensive consumer tyre range to date, which is more simplified, sustainable and sportier than ever before. The tyre giant has achieved notable positive test results for its latest product range, which, in its words, has been simplified and revitalised in the past two years.
Common sense seems to dictate that when you tell the majority of the population to stay home, vehicle utilisation – and therefore tyre consumption – should be down across the board. And in a blunt sense the latest full-year panelmarket data from GfK, which tracks points of sale around the UK to indicate aftermarket tyre trends, does show that this happened. However, the latest infographic from the automotive market data analyst also reveals a few more subtle patterns to consumer behaviour in the difficult 12 months of 2020, compared with the previous period. This article is available in Tyres & Accessories’ February issue.
The UK new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market enjoyed growth in the first month of the year, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Registrations rose 2.0 per cent in January with 24,029 of the latest, low emission vehicles hitting UK roads as new models and deals drove fleet renewal. Although the fluctuating nature of fleet renewal often impacts the first month of the year in particular, 2021 opened with the highest volume January since 1990, 10.5 per cent ahead of five-year average.
Goodyear has brought out a second generation of its summer van and light truck tyre. The first sizes in the new Goodyear EfficientGrip Cargo 2 range began arriving in December, and the full range of 23 SKUs for 14- to 17-inch rim diameters should be available by the end of October 2021.
Following the news that the law relating to old tyres has changed, the DVSA has updated its guidance documents. DVSA, the body that oversees the nation’s MOT roadworthiness tests, re-asserted that tyres aged over 10 years on the front axles of lorries, buses, coaches and all single wheels of minibuses (9 to 16 passenger seats) are banned from 1 February 2021.
Giti Tire has produced its first AA-rated EU label tyre. The GitiSynergyH2 original equipment tyre, produced in size 215/55R17 XL 98H for the bestselling VW Caddy 5 light commercial vehicle, achieved A grades in the EU label’s wet grip and fuel efficiency metrics. The deal follows Giti’s first LCV OE deal with Volkswagen earlier in 2020, for the larger Crafter model. An aftermarket version of the new GitiSynergyH2 will be launched in the aftermarket in March 2021, replacing the GitiSynergyE1 and GitiPremiumH1, both of which were part of the original Giti brand launch into Europe in 2016. Label ratings for the replacement range will be confirmed during the model’s aftermarket launch.
During the course of 2020 the emergency services’ irreplaceable role as keyworkers took a deserved centre stage. At the same time, tyre technicians up and down the country stayed busy making sure blue light fleets kept rolling. With the Crown Commercial Services framework coming up for renewal in 2021, Tyres & Accessories conducted an in-depth analysis of the Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance fleets’ tyre purchasing and consumption serialised across the year. But how do the Police and Ambulance fleets compare? In this, the concluding part of our series of blue light fleet analyses, we zoom out and compare the national trends present in each emergency service with the other.
The light van market grew by 8.8 per cent in November, although year-to-date the market remains down -21.5 per cent from 2019’s levels. All van and light commercial segments showed improvement in November except pick-ups and 4x4s. These are primarily purchased by private individuals and self-employed as they are both work and lifestyle vehicles, hence often ordered in showrooms, which were closed throughout the month.
Throughout 2020 Tyres & Accessories has been analysing the tyre choices of UK emergency services fleets. The series began with an investigation into the National Police fleet’s tyre demands, followed by closer looks at the Kent, Metropolitan and West Midland force fleets. At the start of November, we took a look at some key Fire Brigade fleets. Now it is the turn of the Ambulance service.
SMMT
Bridgestone
SMMT
DVSA
Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge
Makizox; CC BY-SA 4.0