Looking back on the wintry conditions that have landed on UK shores in the previous few years, winter tyres are becoming ever more popular in this country, and are already a legal necessity in some European countries such as Germany.

Manufacturers across the globe have already stepped up production due to the predicted growth in sales of winter tyres this year, but with more orders coming in, and retailers replacing stock which in some cases hasn’t moved off the shelf for years there are fears that in some tyre sizes, there will be a shortage of product.

Winter tyres are able to offer a much greater level of grip to drivers in both ice and snow, and their growing popularity in the UK is not only due to the adverse winter weather seen in recent years, but also due to increased awareness of Winter tyre products as exposure to the consumer increases through both company advertising and safety campaigns designed to highlight their benefits.

So if you’re looking to get your hands on some winter tyres, whether it be onto your shelves or onto your vehicle you better get in there early!

This new addition to the software now allows Tyrenet to streamline its invoicing process with its dealer partners who also use the same Cam developed platform, and as such reduces the time between job and invoice completion to provide both customers and suppliers with a more efficient service.

This increased efficiency can be achieved because 3PI allows suppliers to send their invoice data and worksheet to Tyrenet electronically whilst invoicing a Tyrenet job on their own system, effectively creating their own self billing document. A Tyrenet operator then approves or rejects the invoice, and once accepted the invoice is completed.

This exciting development not only increases efficiency, but also reduces costs as suppliers using the new system no longer have to use fax or post to send paperwork to Tyrenet should they not already use email.

This rise in vehicle sales is great news for the tyre sector, as not only will tyre manufacturers be supplying more original equipment to the vehicle manufacturers, but there will also be more vehicles on the road which will at some point require their tyres to be serviced.

The month of August has bucked the trend of recent months, with July for example being down 1.5% based on last years figures. In the UK however July’s fall was even greater at approximately 3.5% with only 131,634 being sold.

And the most popular cars in the UK as of July were as follows (so you better get stocking up on all the right sizes!)

1. Ford Fiesta
2. Ford Focus
3. Vauxhall Corsa
4. Volkswagen Golf
5. Vauxhall Astra
6. Vauxhall Insignia
7. BMW 3 Series
8. Volkswagen Polo
9. Nissan Qashqai
10. Volkswagen Passat

In the UK the ETRMA figures show that 98% of all used tyres were recovered in 2010. The figures show that the UK recycles 2% more of its used tyres than the European average of 96% which is excellent news for the environment here in Britain.

The UK operates under a free market end of life tyre management scheme, whilst other European countries have adopted different strategies, including both tax based and manufacturer’s responsibilty models in order to deal with the growing problem of used tyre casings. The manufacturer based model requires tyre makers to pick up 1 used tyre for every new tyre they sell in order to create a balanced system.

The results clearly indicate that the free market system in the UK performs well, with independent tyre recycling firms and casing buyers collecting and selling the majority of commercially viable casings, whilst a number of uses are found for those which hold no resale value within the tyre industry itself.

In fact in just a matter of hours the major supermarkets were embroiled in a price war with prices falling by around 3p per litre on both petrol and diesel. Both Tesco and Morrisons dropped their price almost immediately, with other major retailers following suit. Asda has even gone as far as to lower its prices by a further 0.2p in a clever move which means that drivers save an extra few pence a tank when compared to filling up with a rival. They claim that none of their customers will expect to pay higher than 130.7p per litre across the country for standard unleaded.

This excellent news for all fleets has been brought about after the shock decision by the International Energy Agency to release emergency oil stocks in the leading consumer nations in the West. This decision, only the 3rd of its kind in the history of the agency released 60 million barrels of oil stock, held by governments in the west, over a 30 day period.

The effects of the release were felt across the markets, with world oil prices slumping by 6% within hours of the move being announced.

Fuel prices however are certainly still nowhere near levels which would be deemed ‘cheap’ or ‘good value’ but this temporary reprieve is more than welcome for most if not all vehicle operators. However, to make the most of this drop in price and squeeze as much value as you can out of a tank, make sure you check your tyre pressures!

This data, which is based on the first line brands recommended by tyre dealers across the UK has highlighted a shift in the market, which has seen brands driven by value become more popular whilst premium brands driven by performance have become less so.

The shift in operations by tyre dealers across the country only goes to show the change in customer values overall, but also the need to change tactics in order to bring those customers through the door and win their business.

Meanwhile the mid range brand sector has remained relatively stable, attracting those consumers who want a mixture of both value and quality, although it did see a slight dip in the study in early 2011.

However, other recent studies have shown that tyre prices in the car market are much more stable that those in the commercial sector with rises averaging at only a couple of pounds per tyre across the board, compared with the huge percentage increases seen in the commercial tyre market. This would suggest that it is not necessarily the cost of the tyre itself which is pulling consumers away from premium brands but the actual cost of living in general.

With rising taxes and prices of goods, and a stagnant jobs market with wages failing to keep up with inflation people are obviously feeling the pinch and legal tyres are now becoming for a larger number of people nothing more than a necessity to keep your vehicle on the road, and the cheaper the better as people sacrifice performance for pennies.

According to the survey almost 90% of us are concerned by the ever rising costs of fuel, and although eco driving can save up to 20% of your fuel bill, 2 in 5 British motorists have no idea what it entails.

Fuel price rises have inevitably affected the pockets of UK families as levels of pay remain relatively stagnant, whilst bills go up and up. The rises have also been felt across the transport industry and many fleets have been looking to adopt new driving practices to help them save money on their fuel bills too. So if you’re a fleet owner and you’re looking for ways to bring down your fuel bill, here are a few tips and stories that might help.

1. Three Turns Are Better Than One

American parcel deliver firm UPS made huge savings on their fuel bill by asking drivers to take three right turns, rather than waiting to take a left turn in order to reach the same place. In a single year they saved more than 11 million litres of fuel across their fleet. Just remember if you’re thinking of employing this technique, the Americans drive on the wrong side of the road.

2. Get Your Truck A Spoiler

Retail giant Walmart, who own ASDA in the UK made a 5% – 8% saving on their fuel bills across the pond when using the ‘highway’ simply by fitting spoilers to their trucks. Spoilers are used in order to disrupt the airflow over the body of the vehicle, and therefore help to reduce drag, which improves your fuel economy.

3. Sleeping? Turn Your Engine Off!

Whether you like it or not, by law drivers have to stop once in a while. Legally they can only drive for a fixed period of time in certain vehicles before they have to rest, and many vehicles are equipped with sleeper cabs so that they’ve got somewhere to get their head down for the night. And one huge retailer managed to shave a cool £15 million off their operations whilst the drivers are fast asleep. Just ask them to remember to turn their engines off!

4. Investing In Systems And People

US hardware manufacturer Xerox made large savings from investing in driver training for its mobile service technicians. Not only did the companies drivers learn to drive more economically, but new technology and company processes also helped to reduce distances travelled using satellite navigation, advanced scheduling and rerouting. This rerouting and scheduling helped to improve the allocation of work to the nearest mobile agent, which not only brought down fuel costs, but also increased efficiency.

5. Keep Up The Pressure

Regularly monitoring and adjusting your vehicles tyre pressures to the correct level helps not only to prolong the life of your tyres, but also helps to improve fuel efficiency by reducing rolling resistance. Tyrenet uses its regular fleet inspections as an opportunity to check tyre pressures where applicable, in order to highlight problems and make adjustments as necessary. By regularly checking and maintaing the pressure not only do our agents ensure that tyre life is maximised, but also that fuel economy is increased within your fleet.

Recently Tyrenet issued a letter to its entire dealer network, in order to reaffirm the company’s commitment to reciprocal trading with its network members and the company would like to thank a large number of dealers who have now started to give a portion of their breakdown work to Tyrenet for their positive response.

Tyrenet understands that the majority of our members also carry out work on behalf of other networks, and therefore we aren’t looking for people to give all their breakdowns to Tyrenet as we know this may impact upon other business they receive from elsewhere, but we are asking for a fair share of work from those who get work back.

The response from dealers has been fantastic, although it did get me thinking why should you and your customer choose us when you pick up the phone? So here are 5 very good reasons:

1. Bigger Is Better:

When it comes to network coverage, we honestly believe that we can offer the most comprehensive UK coverage of any tyre breakdown network. And although it’s not always the case, this time round bigger really does mean better because the more independent tyre dealers we have working with us across the UK, the greater the level of assistance and expertise we can offer you and your customers.

So whether you’re in Aylesford or Auchtermuchty, Welshpool or Wolverhampton we’ve got you covered.


2. Going That Extra Mile:

If there is one thing that we hate, it’s not being able to source a breakdown on your behalf. That’s why when Tyrenet had a driver who needed to drive in to a dealer in Wick and we didn’t have one, we went out and found one.

We are committed to getting your customers back on the road again, and what is good for them is also good for us.

3. Clear, Consistent And Competitive Pricing:

Tyrenet offer a completely transparent and competitive fixed price to all our members. Unlike other networks we make a realistic fixed fee on every breakdown we handle, and unlike some networks we don’t base it on a percentage of total cost either. Our fixed fee is split between both customer and supplier, and it is not excessive unlike some other networks.

Because our pricelist is based on realistic profit margins, it is attractive to both customers and suppliers, and ensures that both parties maintain a healthy margin where possible without being overcharged or underpaid for the work they have carried out which ensures a fairer system for all network members.


4. More Than Just A Call Centre:

When you get through to Tyrenet you’re not just talking to a call centre operative working from a script. You’re talking to an office full of real people, with hands on experience in the tyre industry which means that we understand your problem, rather than just write it down to pass on to someone else who does.

It is this mixture of the personal touch and tyre industry experience that makes Tyrenet unique within the industry and it ensures that you get through to someone who speaks the language of tyres. Not only this but our state of the art call handling systems allow us to control your customers policies from brand fitment by position(s) right through to casing destination and retorque policies. For more information on registering your customers with us, all you need to do is call and we can do the rest.


5. A Fair Share For All:

The aim of reciprocal trading is to share business amongst independent tyre dealers across one single network of active customers and suppliers.

Unlike some networks we don’t charge you to join the network, and we aren’t owned by multiple people with their own business interests elsewhere. Tyrenet doesn’t believe in charging tyre dealers to become part of the network, because just by your very location you can be at a very distinct disadvantage with regards to the volume of business you can expect to receive.

And why would you want to pay a joining fee, and pass a network a large amount of your breakdowns, only to see all the breakdowns in your area going to your competitor who happens to be owned by a director of the very same breakdown network? That’s why our single point of ownership means that we aren’t looking after multiple people’s other interests in what end up becoming ‘territories’ on a map of the UK.

Tyrenet aims to allocate a fair share of all breakdown and fleet management work to every dealer where ever possible. However, the more active Tyrenet partners in any area can expect to get a greater share of work, but again this is done as fairly as possible to encourage all network members to become more active, which in turn gives us more work to share around.


So next time you’re picking up the phone, just stop and think about how much value you’re actually getting from your current breakdown provider before hitting speed dial.

Counterfeiting is a major problem for manufacturers across many industries, and the automotive industry is no exception to the rule. Many of the items seized in the check also bore the copied logos of a number of major parts manufacturers.

According to the Guardia di Finanza, in conjunction with the Association of Italian Wheel Manufacturers the wheels not only violate the intellectual property rights of the real manufacturers, but they are also extremely unsafe. Many of the wheels lack the material and build quality of the genuine products, in a way which would not be visible to the average consumer. However, these differences can cause a number of problems and the counterfeit wheels are much more likely to succumb to damages from breaking at speed and hitting potholes but to name a few potential scenarios.

A recent campaign by a Manchester MP in the UK brought to light the problems of fitting second hand wheels to vehicles, and this latest news once again brings the quality of vehicle wheels, this time brand new, to the forefront of discussions.

One of the main pieces of advice issued by Italian Authorities, which applies to all retailers who buy and sell wheels is that you must be able to ensure that all products are traceable, so that you know who produced them and where. A number of unnamed Italian firms are already being investigated over the importation of these dangerous counterfeits that could have put people’s lives in danger.

Internet retailer Delticom questioned 5,000 motorists in the survey, and found that 47% of those surveyed would be prepared to buy tyres through an online store.

In recent times we have seen a number of big businesses looking towards selling tyres online, such as the AA and Tesco. Tyres are delivered to a local centre chosen by the buyer, and the tyre dealer is paid a mounting fee per tyre, although the profit from the sale of the tyre goes directly to the online retailer.

Statistics for other EU countries revealed that 77% of drivers in France would look towards the internet for their new tyres, whereas drivers in countries such as Germany, Spain and Italy are much more wary of this new online sector, with only 18% – 40% prepared to surf the web for new rubber.

One of the major questions for independent tyre retailers across the UK is how to compete with the prices offered by these online sites, or do we as an industry merely accept the inevitable move towards online tyre buying and adapt to make the most of it?