BestDrive Opens New Retail Location in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C., August 22, 2024 — A commercial tire dealer and retreader focusing on Continental tire offerings, BestDrive Tire celebrated the grand opening of its new location in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 22, 2024. Established in 2010, BestDrive now has 24 commercial tire centers across the United States and 5 commercial retreading facilities, with plans to expand in both North and South Carolina over the next couple of years.
Features of the Retail Center
BestDrive’s Charlotte tire center is a 49,000-square-foot retail and service center. It is outfitted to handle all light mechanical and tire service needs, including alignments, industrial press tires, balancing, wheel reconditioning and much more. Strategically located near the intersections of I-485, I-85, and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, it is ideal for access by its long-haul, regional haul, and on-/off-road fleet customers.
“We are extremely excited to be in the Carolinas and look forward to providing exceptional service and on-time delivery to the growing fleet business in this expanding market,” said Tom O’Neil, Managing Director, of BestDrive Tire. “We have assembled a powerful team in Charlotte with years of experience in delivering quality service that we stand behind. We have also made the investments needed to handle any service call quickly and efficiently to get our customers back on the road.”
The location will offer new tires and mechanical services, as well as distribute ContiTread™ retreads manufactured in the BestDrive Carolina retread plant. Continental designs its commercial tire casings for retreading, helping deliver the Lowest Overall Driving Cost for fleets and owner-operators. Each retread tire saves almost 40lbs of raw material, including rubber, steel, and carbon black, as well as 15 gallons of oil, according to the Retread Tire Information Bureau (TRIB). The Bureau also calculates that retreading truck tires in the U.S. reduces carbon emissions by 396,000 tons annually, as the retreading process generates 70 percent less emissions than the production of a new tire.
The Charlotte store’s General Manager Gentry Asher is looking forward to making ContiTread™ retreads conveniently available in the Charlotte area. “I am excited to bring my expertise to the Charlotte area,” he said. “For some time, customers had limited choices when it came to commercial tire dealers, with service delivery being subpar. With the opening of this new store, we can bring Continental tires and innovation to our customers which will be a game changer for many. As a leader in tire innovation and quality, BestDrive will quickly provide Charlotte and the surrounding area drivers with superior products and exceptional service.”
Charlotte, North Carolina, was selected due to its prominence as a commercial fleet hub. Charlotte was named the 8th fastest-growing city in the country in 2022 according to UNC’s 2022 American Growth Project. According to O’Neil, “Charlotte is a hub that supports a substantial number of national account fleets as well as numerous locally owned businesses with commercial tire and service needs. We are positioned well to quickly become the premier commercial tire service provider in the market.”
“Continental is excited to expand its BestDrive operations in the Carolinas,” said Jeff Puckett, Continental’s Director of Retail for the Americas region. “We see this as a great growth opportunity in a region with a strong and growing economy. We offer New Tires, Retreads, and Services to service our fleet customers. We look forward to supporting our customers and the local economies of the areas in which our stores are located.”