Tyre Consumers to Become More ‘Label Conscious’

Every time you pad across the kitchen floor and help yourself to a refreshing drink from the fridge, you are reminded exactly how efficient – or inefficient – the large cooling appliance standing before you really is. Thanks to the EU Energy Label you can spot at a glance whether your beverage is kept at the desired temperature by a frugal “A” rated fridge or a power slurping “G”. With a sigh you walk away, drink in hand, wishing your tyres had come festooned with similarly helpful information…..

Fret no longer: On April 22 the European Parliament approved – by a large majority – a number of draft measures that will see various performance related measures, including fuel efficiency and noise levels, supplied with new tyres. The new rating system, pencilled in for implementation by late 2012, will use a scale similar to that utilised on the EU Energy Label.

It has been proposed that tyres generating particularly low levels of noise be given an extra insignia, imprinted on the outer sidewall. Another proposed change is an upping of the level of information provided in tyre advertisements – the aim is to better inform consumers and provide a stimulus for the development of safer and more environmentally friendly tyres.

According to Brussels Commission figures, about 25 per cent of CO2 emissions in the EU come from vehicle traffic. Tyres are, specifically, responsible for about 20 to 30 per cent of a car’s fuel consumption. The EU Commission hopes that a fuel savings of 10 per cent can be achieved through the use of energy efficient tyres.

Specific details of the labelling scheme have yet to be finalised, and the draft text still awaits the scrutiny of the Council of Ministers, the body representing the 27 EU member states.