Bridgestone launches 2 Ecopia fuel-saving truck tyres
Bridgestone gave its latest two truck tyres – the Ecopia H-Steer 001 and Ecopia H-Drive 001 (in 315/70 R22.5) – their European debut at Reifen 2012. According to the company, these are “the most ecological and economical truck tyres that Bridgestone has ever developed.” As such the two long-haul tyres reportedly deliver are said to offer radically lower rolling resistance, fuel consumption and environmental impact, while maintaining overall levels of tyre performance.
Both the Ecopia H-Steer 001 and Ecopia H-Drive 001 incorporate Bridgestone’s NanoPro-Tech compound which reduces energy loss as the tyre rotates. This reduced energy loss translates as lower rolling resistance – apparently without compromising other tyre performance areas such as drive traction, wet grip and mileage.
In order to demonstrate this Bridgestone points to independent road tests conducted in July 2011 by TÜV SÜD Automotive GmbH, which show that Ecopia H-Steer 001 and Ecopia H-Drive 001 provided 18.9 per cent and 26.5 per cent lower rolling resistance respectively than the current Ecopia series, leading to 4.4 pe cent lower fuel consumption.
“In addition to strong independent test results, customer feedback on the new ECOPIA tyres has been very positive” says Harald Van Ooteghem, Senior Manager Marketing Planning, Bridgestone Europe.
Bridgestone reports that it started supplying Ecopia H-Steer 001 and Ecopia H-Drive 001 tyres to a major vehicle manufacturer and that others will follow during 2012. The manufacturer also reports that the company made limited sales to selected customers to gather feedback before the full official launch with a wider size line-up in 2013.
However it has to be said that passenger car tyres were very much noticeable by their absence from the 460 square metre Bridgestone stand in hall 3 featuring the company’s truck, bus and retread (including Bandag) products. Bridgestone explains this by pointing out that the company aimed to present a stand themed on its Total Tyre Life strategy which provides truck fleet operators with a lower cost of ownership.
The stand layout was designed to lead truck tyre customers and prospects through the chain of integrated Bridgestone products and services which together form the Total Tyre Life approach. This was brought to life on the stand through the DNA analogy, visualized by groups of atoms in molecules that each represent components of the Total Tyre Life concept.
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