Hankook is the latest tire maker to produce a concept tire which relies on mechanical strength of plastic materials to carry load, rather than pneumatic pressure. The iFlex was shown at the Frankfurt IAA. I chatted with the engineers and their story was a little different from that which has been trumpeted by other publications.
Tire manufacturing in Europe is going through something of a crisis. In January Goodyear announced the closure of its factory in Amiens-North. Last month Bridgestone announced the closure of its factory in Bari, Italy. None of this has provoked much debate Rumours that Michelin will reduce its output, however have triggered a string of comment
Three key stories emerged from the opening day of the Geneva Motor Show. ETRMA members met in Geneva and agreed to work together to help governments enforce the EU Labelling scheme Tire makers see the EU car tire sales downturn as structural – no recovery any time soon. BMW once again leads the OE field
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