Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is launching a new brand, Fierce, that's exclusively dedicated to the tuner market. "This is way outside the box for Goodyear," says Chris Magana, marketing manager for Goodyear's Kelly Brands unit, which is spinning off the new brand.
Three tires are part of the Fierce line-up, Magana told moderntiredealer.com earlier this afternoon at Goodyear's 2006 dealer meeting in Nashville, Tenn.:
* an H- and V-rated high performance tire, which will be available in 16 sizes;
* an ultra high-performance tire, available in 20 sizes;
* a sport truck tire, which will come in three sizes.
More sizes will be added to the tires throughout 2006, according to Magana.
"This is a brand that will stand alone (as a) separation from Goodyear, Kelly and Dunlop."
The tuner market "is such a niche market. You need the capability to go into multiple channels."
The Fierce brand will compete against Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC's Fuzion tuner tire brand, in addition to Kumho, Toyo and others, he says.
"We're pricing it to be competitive with them."
Tuner customers represented "a whole segment we were missing."
Fierce tires are currently available.
