Of the 19 tire manufacturers who responded to our questions, 11 have introduced new M/T tires since 2015. And at least three more new M/T tires are expected to be unveiled in the next 24 months. Nick Gutierrez, sales manager for Sentury Tire Americas, refers to it as a “flash flood.”
By 2020, Bridgestone Corp. will either upgrade or replace 100% of its products. It can do that in part because it spends $1 billion: a year on research and development.
Target date, 2017. That’s when Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. plans to produce a prototype tire with 100% of its natural and synthetic rubber components substituted with those made from guayule, a shrub native to the United States.
John Baratta recently told independent tire dealers in North Carolina that on any given day, 5,500 tire-buying customers will visit their stores. However, another 3,500 won’t, choosing instead to go to car dealerships or other competitors.
