TYRES GIVES IT A PRIVILEGED POSITION AS REGARDS COMPETITION FROM RETREADING UNDERTAKINGS AND THIS ENABLES IT TO CONDUCT ITSELF WITH GREATER INDEPENDENCE ON THE MARKET THAN WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR A RETREADING UNDERTAKING .
52 IT IS CLEAR FROM THE CONSIDERATIONS SET OUT ABOVE THAT THE PARTIAL COMPETITION TO WHICH MANUFACTURERS OF NEW TYRES ARE EXPOSED FROM RETREADING UNDERTAKINGS IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO DEPRIVE A MANUFACTURER OF NEW TYRES OF THE ECONOMIC POWER WHICH HE POSSESSES BY VIRTUE OF HIS DOMINANT POSITION ON THE MARKET IN NEW TYRES . IN ASSESSING MICHELIN NV ' S POSITION IN RELATION TO THE STRENGTH AND NUMBER OF ITS COMPETITORS THE COMMISSION WAS THEREFORE RIGHT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION A MARKET SHARE TO 57 TO 65% ON THE MARKET IN NEW REPLACEMENT TYRES FOR HEAVY VEHICLES . COMPARED WITH THE MARKET SHARES OF MICHELIN NV ' S MAIN COMPETITORS AMOUNTING TO 4 TO 8% , THAT MARKET SHARE CONSTITUTES A VALID INDICATION OF MICHELIN NV ' S PREPONDERANT STRENGTH IN RELATION TO ITS COMPETITORS , EVEN WHEN ALLOWANCE IS MADE FOR SOME COMPETITION FROM RETREADS .
( B ) THE OTHER CRITERIA AND EVIDENCE PROVING OR DISPROVING THE EXISTENCE OF A DOMINANT POSITION
53 THE APPLICANT CHALLENGES NEXT THE RELEVANCE OF THE OTHER CRITERIA AND EVIDENCE USED BY THE COMMISSION TO PROVE THAT A DOMINANT POSITION EXISTS . IT CLAIMS THAT IT IS NOT THE ONLY UNDERTAKING TO HAVE COMMERCIAL REPRESENTATIVES , THAT THE NUMBERS EMPLOYED BY ITS MAIN COMPETITORS ARE EVEN LARGER IN RELATIVE TERMS AND THAT ITS WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS IS NOT A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BECAUSE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TYRE ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE AND IT DOES NOT REQUIRE DEALERS TO PURCHASE ITS WHOLE RANGE OF TYRES .
54 IT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE COMMISSION TOOK NO ACCOUNT OF A NUMBER OF EVIDENTIAL FACTORS WHICH WERE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE EXISTENCE OF A DOMINANT POSITION . FOR INSTANCE , DEALERS ' NET MARGINS ON MICHELIN TYRES AND COMPETING TYRES ARE COMPARABLE AND THE COST PER MILE OF MICHELIN TYRES IS THE MOST FAVOURABLE FOR USERS . SINCE 1979 MICHELIN NV HAS MADE A LOSS . AS ITS PRODUCTION CAPACITY IS INSUFFICIENT , ITS COMPETITORS , WHICH ARE ALSO FINANCIALLY STRONGER AND MORE DIVERSIFIED THAN THE MICHELIN GROUP , CAN AT ANY MOMENT REPLACE THE QUANTITIES WHICH IT SUPPLIES . LASTLY , BECAUSE USERS OF HEAVY-VEHICLE TYRES ARE EXPERIENCED TRADE BUYERS THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACT AS A COUNTERPOISE TO THE TYRE MANUFACTURERS .
55 IN REPLY TO THOSE ARGUMENTS IT SHOULD FIRST BE OBSERVED THAT IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE RELATIVE ECONOMIC STRENGTH OF MICHELIN NV AND ITS COMPETITORS ON THE NETHERLANDS MARKET THE ADVANTAGES WHICH THOSE UNDERTAKINGS MAY DERIVE FROM BELONGING TO GROUPS OF UNDERTAKINGS OPERATING THROUGHOUT EUROPE OR EVEN THE WORLD MUST BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION . AMONGST THOSE ADVANTAGES , THE LEAD WHICH THE MICHELIN GROUP HAS OVER ITS COMPETITORS IN THE MATTERS OF INVESTMENT AND RESEARCH AND THE SPECIAL EXTENT OF ITS RANGE OF PRODUCTS , TO