Bermuda Motors Ltd. has become the first official distributor of Pirelli tyres on the Island.

The official launch of the product was marked with a cocktail reception held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess with 150 guests in attendance last night.

Meanwhile Pirelli sent over two representatives, including Mauricio Canineo, chief executive officer and president of the Mexico, Carribbean and Central America area, and Alvaro Villar Padilla, Caribbean area sales manager, to Bermuda to market the product and work out the specifications required for the tyres.

Michael Butler, general manager of Bermuda Motors, said the company already distributes BMWs, Kias, Toyotas and Fords and was always on the lookout for premium brands in the automotive trade to represent, which is how the Pirelli deal was struck.

"We have managed to get Pirelli tyres and we have actually been selling them for two years," he said.

"Every country has its own specifications for tyres, which needed to be sorted out, but now we have got it all together, so to mark the official launch of Pirelli tryes in Bermuda we had a reception at the Hamilton Princess to launch Pirelli tyres in Bermuda and as part of this launch two representatives came out here to work on the tyre specifications.

"I think we are the first appointed distributor in the Caribbean region."

Mr. Butler said Bermuda Motors had already sold $100,000 worth of Pirelli tyres over the past two years, but expected to pick up more business in the next few years.

Krishna King, after-sales manager for Bermuda Motors, was tasked with finding the right tyre to distribute and he met up with a Pirelli representative at the APEX/SEMA show in Las Vegas in 2006 and was able to source the product via Pirelli Mexico, but he admitted there were still some challenges to be overcome due to the Island having a mainly European tyre size specification.

Mr. Villar Padilla said his company was focused on developing more markets globally and the specific needs of tyres for customers.

"Bermuda, with the amount and type of cars, was an important market to reach," he said.

"It is on islands like Bermuda that people are looking for good quality tyres and performance and you need to have the right tyres to make it a good drive."