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Automotive Business Review - Aftermarket
Wed Oct 25, 2006
- Multi-client warehousing and supply chain solutions provider Wincanton is set to operate a newly-built central warehouse in the Slovak town of Senec for Goodyear Dunlop Tyres.
- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has posted a 9% increase in first-quarter net income to $74 million.
- Auto parts retail chain Pep Boys, in association with the US Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), is promoting National Tire Safety Week in the US by aiding all motorists in ensuring their tires are in safe, proper condition.
- Goodyear has announced that it is to close a British tire facility and a Polish bicycle tire plant as it looks to China and possibly Germany to expand operations at a lower cost. While the moves will result in charges amounting to a possible $200 million, the continual divestment of non-core assets should ultimately serve to increase the company's competitiveness in the face of rising costs.
- A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Japanese automaker Toyota Motor and the world's leading tire manufacturer Goodyear Tire & Rubber, alleging the two companies sold defective tires to certain buyers of Toyota’s Sienna minivans.
- In a effort to cut production costs and get closer to European consumers, South Korean tire firm Hankook has signed a deal with the government of Hungary to build a E500 million plant.
- Japanese tire maker Bridgestone has agreed to pay Ford $240 million to settle a dispute that has been raging between the two companies for five years.
- Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire TBC Corporation, one of the leading marketers of automotive replacement tires in the US, in a transaction valued at $1.1 billion.
- N2Revolution, a US manufacturer that develops environmentally friendly automotive solutions, is set to launch PurigeN98, its flagship tire inflation product designed to improve energy efficiency, safety and the environment.
- Leading US retail tire supplier TBC Corporation has reported a 34% increase in net income for the second quarter which steered to a 26% improvement in net income for the first half of the year.
- Bridgestone is in pole position to acquire European fast-fit group Kwik-Fit according to a recent Financial Times report. While such a move would buck the recent trend of tire makers reducing their exposure to the tire retailing sector, it could help Bridgestone increase its share of the European replacement tire market.
