Ultra High Performance Tyres

Ultra High Performance Tyres (uhp) are not only for super sports cars nor high performance marques, but also for the top models of volume car makers. They are the biggest customers of the European uhp tyre manufacturers nowadays. From the middle of the decade, uhp OE sales begin to slacken, but aftermarket sales continue to grow.

At the moment the OE sector accounts for the majority of uhp tyre sales, but this will turn around in a couple of years. Nowadays, 16″ tyres are usually the smallest in the uhp market; 17″ and 18″ increase, 19″ and 20″ are still comparatively rare. 55 and 50 series aspect ratios are the usual sizes, but tyres as low as 30 series can be fitted.

Looking ahead, the V speed rating looks set to explode. In W/Y/Z speed ratings, the premium tyre manufacturers dominate, but for V-rated tyres, the not-so-well-known brands can get a slice of the cake. In 1999, sales of V, W, Y and Z-rated tyres in Western Europe were in excess of 20 million units and by 2005, this will be doubled.

In volume terms, Germany will be the biggest market – even today, one in three uhp tyres sold in Europe is bought by a German. But Germany is the leader only on numbers sold; when it comes to uhp tyres as a percentage of the tyre market as a whole, last year this sector accounted for 30% of the German market. The leader in percentage terms was Switzerland, with 38%.