New products and marketing will play a critical role in moving the Dunlop brand forward, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. officials announced during a ride-and-drive event in Greenville, S.C., yesterday, April 22.
"We plan to maintain a high frequency of new product introductions," said Razvan Bosomoiu, general manager, Dunlop brand marketing, Goodyear. "To cover 90% of the market right now you need about 400 different sizes."
Goodyear officially unveiled a new ultra-high performance product, the Dunlop Sport Maxx TT, during the event. It ships next month and will be available in 35 Y-rated sizes by the end of June.
Seventy five percent of the Dunlop brand tires that Goodyear sells in North America are made here. "We want to increase our manufacturing capacity of domestic products."
Bosomoiu also promised new marketing for Dunlop, which will include new point-of-sale materials like tire stands, posters, riser cards and literature for independent tire dealers.
Dunlop has 2% of the total U.S. replacement passenger tire market, according to Modern Tire Dealer research.
