Michelin launches X Works guarantee

Michelin has launched a guarantee on its on/off-road X Works commercial tyre range. The manufacturer says the guarantee is designed to protect customers from the financial risk of accidental tyre damage, while also underlining its confidence in the durability of the range.

In the event of a registered X Works tyre suffering accidental damage before it is 50 per cent worn, Michelin will refund the operator. The level of refund will be determined against the tyre’s remaining tread depth, based on a fixed purchase price of £400/€500 per tyre.

Michelin says the guarantee covers tyres fitted as replacements and original equipment, providing added incentive to specify X Works tyres on new vehicles operating in the construction, demolition and waste sectors.

Guy Heywood, commercial director of Michelin’s truck tyre division, explains: “There’s a common misconception that a jagged rock on a construction site or a piece of steel sticking up on a landfill doesn’t differentiate between a £400 premium tyre and a £200 budget one. But that’s simply not true.

“A Michelin X Works tyre is far more robust; our on/off-road casings are designed to withstand this type of punishment and deliver superior performance over a long life. It’s a natural result of consistently spending more on research and development than any other tyre manufacturer in the world.”

Heywood adds: “We know our tyres offer lasting durability; the guarantee provides owner-drivers and fleets with a risk-free way of putting that to the test for themselves. We believe it is the only truck tyre guarantee of its kind in the sector.”

Michelin argues that budget tyre policies are likely to cost fleets more in the long-term owing to the increased chances of frequent downtime, expensive repairs, reduced tyre life, increased rolling resistance and lower casing acceptance rates for retreading. It contrasts these results with its claims for the X Works range; tyres “built to provide total performance, without compromise, across a wide range of performance criteria,” according to the manufacturer.

X Works fitments are built for vehicles operating both on and off-road, such as tippers, mixers, skip-loaders, hooklifts and refuse collection vehicles. Michelin has engineered the casing, rubber compounds, sidewalls and tread with additional strength to provide more resistance against cuts and impacts.

The new guarantee covers all multi-position and drive tyres in the X Works range, including the X Works XZY and X Works XDY in 315/80 R 22.5 and 13 R 22.5 sizes. Also included are the X Works Z and XDY+ as a 295/80 R 22.5, together with the 385/65 R 22.5 XZY3. Tyres need to have been manufactured from 1 January 2011 onwards to qualify.

Customers can register tyres for the guarantee via the Michelin MyAccount web portal. Once a tyre has been registered, it takes four clicks to activate the guarantee in the unlikely event of incurring accidental damage. Accidental damage is defined as impact damage occurring to a registered tyre which makes it unusable. The policy excludes damage suffered through road accidents, acts of vandalism, fire and natural disasters.