The industry has been debating the possibility of a substantial UK winter tyre market for years. The technical benefits and commercial advantages are well documented. If consumers are fully aware of the reasons why they should fit winter tyres - then why don't they? At a time when winter tyre sales should begin to take off, Tyres & Accessories compares the success of some existing markets, to determine what the UK winter tyre industry is lacking. But more importantly asks market representatives what they predict for the future of the UK winter tyre segment.
Winter tyres are a mere three percent of the UK's total tyre market. This poor statistic compares with 10 per cent in the Netherlands, and 50 per cent in Germany. However, both countries began with a similar market share as the UK. The Netherlands' winter tyre market rose from three per cent in the late 90s, to its current 10 per cent, while Germany's market share has climbed to almost 50 per cent in the last 10 years. How is it that countries which share similar winter conditions to the UK, have achieved such a comparatively strong hold in the winter tyre market? And can the UK look to them as a working model?
Winter tyres – a good idea for the safety of better grip
Tyre Sipes & Siping
The Dutch success story
The Netherlands' winter tyre market is a wellknown success story. A small, relatively flat country, similar to the UK, Holland does not experience bad winters; however, for the five month period, from November to March, winter tyres are in higher demand. As previously discussed by T&A the development in the Dutch market was due to a number of key factors, essentially the cooperation of a medium sized leasing company, a manufacturer and a retailer; the latter two, namely Vredestein and Euromaster.
Vredestein UK's managing director, Bert Stellinga explained that in 1995, winter tyres accounted for a mere 0.5 per cent of Dutch tyre sales. By 2002, after the success of the marketing campaign this figure had risen to seven per cent, which equated to 1.75 million tyres. And today, the market shows little sign of decreasing, having, according to Mr Stellinga, risen to somewhere between 10-12 per cent.
This success was not solely down to the combined efforts of the three companies. The campaign received massive support from the Dutch government, in the form of a national tyre awareness scheme. The initiative explored the tyre safety issues, for example showing the affect low tyre pressure has on fuel consumption. This worked to educate motorists and provide the significant message that winter.
Tyres contribute to safe winter driving, as opposed to being yet another opportunity for the industry to sell more tyres.
Vredestein's research shows that for the same five months of the year, the UK would benefit from winter tyres, in terms of road safety. In addition, there are clear statistics that show the temperature in the UK falls below 7°C for at least three months, and that the number of accidents rapidly increases in winter months. (See text box) Although a need has been identified, the use of winter tyres in the UK is still unheard of, and in most cases, when the subject is mentioned, it is met with laughter.
The Dutch manufacturer claims that at present it has a "considerable" share of the UK winter tyre market. Without a doubt the company has done some key marketing campaigns to achieve this share. Its efforts have been successful in rural parts of England, however the company admits that southern England is a different story. The hardest market to penetrate, its motorists rarely suffer from the effects of what they would describe 'winter conditions.' Despite the small size of the market, Vredestein has still witnessed a change in demand. The UK winter tyre market is following a similar pattern to the rest of Europe, moving more to high performance tyres, and an increasing number of 17, 18 and 19 inch tyres. But even with this dramatic change, the UK winter tyre market hasonly felt a marginal effect, as it's so small.
So, with its wealth of experience in the market, what does Vredestein believe needs to be done to change the current situation? Mr Stellinga believes that it is primarily a matter of drawing the industry's attention to the winter tyre campaign, and involving the UK tyre trade to a higher degree. The MD explains that the industry needs to be more proactive in raising the awareness of winter tyres, and marketing them as a necessity. Mr Stellinga admits how crucial the television advertising was to the 'snowball' effect of the Dutch campaign and suggests this as a way forward for the UK. Again, the 'catch 22' situation is in trying to get the TV programmes interested in covering tyre subjects, while tyre awareness is at such a low level this is a difficult task.
He also underlines the need to approach the campaign from the distributors' and dealers' point of view, focusing on the benefits for the tyre fitter. He comments: "There are a lot of advantages to the tyre fitter by just getting the customer through the door." The increase in business opportunities to all companies involved is so obvious that it could not have been overlooked so what is holding them back? Perhaps a widely held belief that a winter tyre market will never be established, because the public won't accept the suggestion that they should invest in another set of tyres? Surely this depends on the way in which the case is presented to them, after all, the British public has been persuaded to change their views on many a subject.
How does he view the future of the UK winter tyre market? "We are always looking at ways of increasing the winter tyre market, and we are especially looking at ways to do this in the UK, but its more time consuming than it was in the Netherlands." Mr Stellinga added. The company believes there is enormous potential in the UK, but it needs to figure out the best way to tap into this. He continued: "If we can join forces with other manufacturers and retailers we can deliver something through the whole distribution channel, and if we can achieve this together with the government we can see a very prosperous future, however, this needs to be carried out by a lot of people." For all its efforts Vredestein cannot promote the winter tyre market to the UK on its own. Undoubtedly it needs allies from distributors, manufacturers and trade associations.
Germany, way ahead of the rest
Perhaps it is time that the government became more involved in a national winter tyre safety campaign. Tyre safety initiatives appear to be dominant factors in all of the successful winter tyre markets. Take the German winter tyre market; it is the biggest in Europe, and arguably in the world. In most parts of the country winter tyres are considered essential. As a national average, 43 per cent of all vehicles are fitted with winter tyres annually. And the driving force behind this, Deutscher Verkehrssicherheitsrat (the German Road Safety Council). Its objective is to ensure greater safety on the country's roads and to reduce the number of road traffic accidents attributable to the weather. The campaign focuses on presenting the advantagesobtained from fitting winter tyres in 'good' time. The winter tyres scheme is intended to make car drivers more safety conscious and is open to all companies, organizations and associations whose directors or members consider they have a duty to meet this objective. Put simply, the nationwide initiative asserts that the method of achieving greater road safety in winter depends primarily on the use of winter tyres. The German campaigners are certainly proactive in ensuring consumers receive their message. The pro-winter scheme is a dominant feature of many national trade exhibitions, for example the Essen Motor Show and Automechanika, where it interacts with consumers to raise awareness. The initiative also maintains an effective press operation throughout the winter season. At the beginning of each season it uses the Kickoff campaign to promote the reasons to fit winter tyres, throughout the national media. In 2003 the council took its work directly to the German public when it began a series of roadside checks in the hilly German region of Harz. The scheme, held in conjunction with Continental, raised motorists' awareness concerning the hazards of driving in severe conditions with summer tyres.
Admittedly the success of the German winter tyre segment is not all down to the campaign. The country does experience more snow/icy conditions than the UK. However, the German Road Safety Council states that although winter tyres were at first predominantly fitted in southern Germany, (where more snow is seen) nowadays it extends to "every region where impaired driving conditions compel the changeover."
Bradford Long Term Weather Averages
| | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Max | 5.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 15.0 | 18.0 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 16.0 | 13.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 |
| Min | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
Source: Meteorological Office, Leeds (Tyres & Accessories 8/2004)
The combination of the pro-winter tyres campaign and the tireless marketing efforts of German car manufacturers had the most powerful impact on consumers. To create a wider appeal for their products manufacturers moved away from the association of winter tyres with snow and marketed them as below 7°C 'cold' winter tyres. Insurance companies have also been a contributing factor to the success of the winter tyre campaign in Germany, some companies offer a lower rate if the motorist uses winter tyres The legal system has also shifted towards the support of winter tyres. New questions concerning liability have been raised - drivers who do not use winter tyres and are involved in accidents during the winter season can be found responsible for the incident. So far the country has witnessed one prosecution for not fitting winter tyres, consequently this gives manufacturers more leverage when selling the tyres. In addition to these aspects, the value of cars in Germany has risen, and alongside this, and in an effort to protect their vehicles so has consumer's demands for winter tyres. It may be a long time until the UK would adopt such techniques, but there is definitely some value in these methods.
The German winter tyre market is now so well developed that statistics show winter tyre sales of 19.4 million, in 2003, an increase from 7.2 million in 1993. This figure compares favourably to the 45.7 million total European sales in 2003. European winter tyre market leaders, Pirelli and Continental agree that there has been dramatic change in winter tyre demand trends. The focus is now high performance, Pirelli claims a 38 per cent increase per year in demand for 17, 18 and 19 inch tyres. The increase in demand for HP tyres has been particularly noticeable in V rated tyres. Although the actual volumes are still comparatively small with H and T ratings, according to Pirelli, demand for V rated tyres has increased by 12 times in the last four years.
Although these statistics are desirable, it is unlikely that the UK segment will ever reach a similar level of sales as the German market, simply because they do have harsher winter conditions. But this is no reason not to try. It is always worth remembering that in both the Dutch and German markets, the changes did not happen over night.
Too close for comfort
Closer to home, Scotland's winter tyre market provides another interesting example for comparison. Statistics concerning the Scottish winter tyre market seem to be few and far between. Although the exact figure is unknown, Crawford Meighan from Inverness based Birkenshaw Distributors Ltd, asserts that the Scottish Market is definitely greater than in England. He estimates that in the north alone, which is only five per cent of the country's total population, approximately10 per cent of people (25,000) use winter tyres. This is an encouraging statistic for such a small area; especially considering the majority of the UK denies the need for winter tyres.
As with Holland and Germany, the Scottish winter tyre market also benefits from an annual winter tyre safety campaign. Tyre Safety Week, the oldest national campaign of its kind, is a big deal in Scotland. However, critics believe the campaign is on the decline, due to a decrease in police presence. In contrast, the TIC, official organiser of the scheme, claims that the 2003 campaign was more successful than it had been in recent years; with more media coverage, enhanced industry and trade support.
The safety week offers companies such as Vredestein and Tyre fair the chance to actively promote winter tyres, by offering a free service to check tyres, and consequently make recommendations. Mr Stellinga adds: "this has a very positive effect on our winter tyre business, sales always increase as a result of the campaign." Tyre clinics are held on neutral ground, so customers don't feel they are forced to buy new tyres. The campaign not only benefits winter tyre sales, but also has a massive impact on the awareness of tyre safety, which is becoming increasingly important as more people take their new cars for granted. So if it is simply a case of the manufacturer and dealer working together to raise awareness, identifying opportunities, and make an impact on the market - then surely there is a realistic possibility that the UK might follow suit?
Again, this success of the Scottish winter tyre market isn't down to significant weather differences. The focus is again on the way in which it is marketed, and that the importance is put on safety. As a result of its annual tyre safety campaigns more customers view winter tyres as a necessity, and according to Martin Rowlands, director of Kinross based Tyre fair, the tyres are viewed as an investment. Renowned for his tyre 'hotel' Mr Rowlands is one of the few businessmen that have captured a niche market in the winter tyre industry. He explains that last year; Tyre fair had its best year to date in winter tyres. More significantly he puts this down to the promotion of the winter tyre safety campaign and overall, the information conveyed.
Mr Rowlands explains that businesses are currently only targeting a fifth of the Scottish market with rural customers. At present the Scottish winter tyre market xists among the 1 million people that populate rural parts of the country. In these areas winter tyres are a must, even in heavy rain. There is a stronger recognition of the need to be able to travel safely in winter conditions, a need that not only comes from rural dwellers but, nurses, doctors and vets, for whom continuous mobility is vital. Whilst he sees room for improvement and the opportunity to target the remaining Scottish market, Mr Meighan disagrees. The northern Scottish businessman explains that he has seen a decline in the amount of winter tyre sales, due to weather conditions becoming milder. If this is truly the case then it casts new doubt over the possibility of a successful winter tyre market in the UK.
| % Total UK car accidents caused by skidding |
|---|
| Winter | 48% |
| Dry | 11% |
| Wet | 19% |
Source DOT 2003 (Tyres & Accessories 8/2004)
Asked if there is a need for winter tyres in the UK, Mr Rowlands laughs as he remembers how last year a few inches of snowfall brought London to a standstill. In is view, drivers weren't prepared and their smooth, well-worn tyres were hazardous in winter conditions. In light of his reaction what does he suggest to encourage the UK's winter tyre market to follow the same direction as Scotland's? Like Mr Stellinga his emphasis is put on teamwork, and suggests it is a matter of the industry working together to achieve its aim. He also believes that manufacturers can begin affecting change by offering incentives such as sale or return to promote the sale of winter tyres to distributors. He concludes: "Customers recognise that the advantage of using winter tyres can be as small as driving up a driveway, 10 years ago; ice studs would have been used to aid this." This, he claims, proves that the industry has come far, and further still, suggests it will continue of develop.
What is the UK lacking?
Market representatives appear to be united in their belief that there is the possibility of a thriving UK winter tyre market. The problem is they do not, as yet, share a united approach to achieving their goals. One look at the successful markets of both Holland and Germany proves that when the industry works together to achieve a common goal, then the results in raising awareness and providing the right information can be impressive. To further its 'united front' the industry needs more substantial support from the government, in the form of a national winter tyre safety campaign that would work towards promoting winter tyres.
Whatever your stance on winter tyres, research shows there is a prominent need to replace summer tyres in November, to something more suitable. As the statistics show (see text boxes) winter weather has adverse effects on driving, regardless of the level of snowfall. Accident rates are significantly higher during the winter season and the use of summer tyres means that braking distances are longer.
As always, the debate comes back to changing consumers' perception of winter tyres. Whilst they are associated with snow and ice conditions the market stands little chance of change and demand will remain low. This perception needs updating; perhaps the industry would be better promoting a cold weather tyre rather than a winter tyre. A cold, or 'inclement' weather tyre, would better serve the needs of the British motoring public by providing the advantages of a winter tyre, but more tailored towards the exact needs of the UK winter market; cold damp roads as opposed to snowy, icy roads. Employing winter tyre technology such as a higher proportion of natural rubber, combined with silica technology would allow the tyre to minimize the effects caused as temperatures fall below 7°C. This, in turn would result in higher grip levels on cold roads. Advances with siping and tread pattern design also allow the tyre to offer a higher level of road safety on cold and damp road surfaces.
The industry needs to determine and address the exact needs of the UK winter tyre market. If their demands surround a cold weather tyre then the industry must abandon its attempt to push existing winter tyres and move towards developing a more suitable option. With doubt cast on the future of Scotland's winter tyre market, it is time for those that want it to happen, to make it happen before the pessimists influence the entire industry and interest is lost completely. Whichever way you look at it a demand has to be created, and quickly. And if old dogs can't be taught new tricks, perhaps it is time to tackle the up and coming generation of drivers, with a more suitable proposition.
