Pirelli Yielded to Hankook On The European Market?
Will Hankook push out Pirelli from the top five tire manufacturers of Europe?
The market research conducted by Hankook showed that the Michelin company remains an absolute leader on the tire market (both in segments of passenger and truck tires). At the same time a new player appeared in the previously stable top five – namely Hankook.
Why did Hankook decided to publish its research now, after one of the most difficult periods in the history of the market? It can be explained by the fact that 2009 was an extremely successful year for the Korean company. The peculiar combination of factors has changed the state of affairs during last 12 months. The major question now – will Hankook be able to retain its positions in Europe in the following years?
Here is the forecast of Hankook for the end of 2009 (passenger tires market): Michelin will remain the leader with the market stake of 20%, the second place goes to Goodyear Dunlop (18%), the third – to Bridgestone (12%), Pirelli has 8%. The most interesting fact here is that Hankook holds the 7th place with 7%. It means that its lagging behind Pirelli is not so big.
What concerns truck tires the first place again goes to Michelin (32%), the second place – Goodyear Dunlop (18%), Continental holds 16% of the market, Bridgestone – 13%. According to Hankook, it performs even better in this segment and holds the 5th place thus having overtaken Pirelli.
Since December has just begun the data can be regarded only as a forecast. At the same time Hankook gives 18% to other companies what means that its research is based on the analysis of the whole market. It also cannot be the result of companies that are members of ERMC Europool because the stake of Cooper and Trelleborg would be much higher in this case. Thus, there may be doubts regarding the correctness of the data in respect of sales volumes of Cooper, Kumho, GTRadial, Nexen, Nokian, Toyo, Yokohama etc. The rise of their stake will inevitably lead to the reduction of that of the five major companies. Anyway, only time can eliminate the doubts.
A review on Toyo M410 tires
A change to summer tires is a headache not only for the owners of sedans, hatchbacks and universals. SUV’s owner also have to care about changing tires too. From the very first look it seems to be quite easy – jeep is simply a jeep anyway. But, it turns out to invent a tire for a SUV in many ways is even more difficult than for the other cars.
It could not be done without science. Let us seek for example from the Japanese. Dynamic Simulation Optimized Contour Theory technology Dr. Ken Isihara of Toyo company has developed more than ten years ago and in 1992 it received the grand prize by the American Association of tires The Tire Society. Then DSOC II took the place of DSOK, which in 2001-m has been updated and expanded by the T-mode technology.
Immediately after the introduction of new developments in industrial production a preparation began to produce a new tire, including a tire for SUVs. New tires were distinguished by softness, high levels of comfort, ability to be driven at high speeds and excellent handling, especially on bends.
The first tires for the jeep made on DSOC technology - Tranpath SU - appeared in 1997. The SU letters (Sport Utility) suggest that the model is designed for urban-type jeep. TASU, as the abbreviated name of novelty, had to taste the owners of large SUVs. Aggressive jeep pattern showed that the tire is not afraid of off-road at all. However its benefits could be tested on a highway too, where it has good adhesion to the road at a very low level of acoustic noise. The Japanese car companies Daihatsu, Mazda and Nissan immediately drew attention to the new tires, and soon they began to use them for their brand’s SUV’s.
Awhile, on the off-road tire market appeared another tire prepared by Toyo - M 410. It differs from a predecessor with a more “concentrated” tread pattern to ensure its excellent resistance to bending and high wear resistance. Good self-refing and advanced water-removing network made the tire indispensable while driving on a wet road. This model has shown wonderful manageability and accelerating, braking performance and powerful diamond and square pieces has ensured a good cross for a car. Again, as in the case of TASU tires, M 410 immediately became a leader in the class of tires for large SUVs.
Technology DSOC II is used by Toyo for nearly a decade, and each new development of Japanese tire company says that the ability of this technology is far from being exhausted.
