5 Tips To Help Your Commercial Fleet Customers

July 20, 2016

As a tire dealer you’re well versed in your fleet customers’ top priority: getting the most value and mileage out of their tires. But a regional sales manager for Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. says dealers need to remind customers of all the factors that contribute to price per mile. “Often we’re focused on only one aspect.”

Cesar Mendieta, regional sales manager for truck tires for Hankook Tire in Panama, offered five tips during his presentation at the Latin American & Caribbean Tyre Expo in Panama City. He says fleets often focus so much, or only, on cost-per-mile that they overlook other factors that contribute to long-term savings and efficiencies.

Mendieta says it’s a mistake to allow your customers to forget about these five things:

  • Use the correct tire pressure for each operation. “Good tire performance goes hand in hand with the correct air pressure.”
  • Proper alignment and regular rotations are important.
  • Use the right tire for the right application. “Each tire has a different wear pattern for different applications. Tires will provide better yields” when the right tread pattern is used, Mendieta says.
  • Where they drive matters. “The wear of a tire rolling on mountain routes is two times higher than in flat routes.”
  • Slow down. A tire traveling 105 km/h (65 mph) wears 50% faster than a tire moving 80 km/h (50 mph).

For more news from the expo, read Retreaders Hopeful for a Rebound in Latin America. And look for more coverage from the show in Panama City in Modern Tire Dealer's August edition.