Nokian claims world first with AA-labelled winter SUV tyre

The introduction of the European tyre label in November 2012 resulted in murmurs from some tyre makers – most notably Nokian Tyres – about its unsuitability for appraising their winter ranges, and the Finnish manufacturer even went as far as introducing its own ‘winter grip label’ that aimed to place labelling criteria within a winter context. This was withdrawn after a short period of time, but now Nokian Tyres has made another label-related winter tyre announcement: Despite the label’s use of criteria that is more compatible with summer tyres, this autumn Nokian will launch a SUV winter tyre that has achieved an ‘AA’ label rating. The tyre maker points out its size 265/50 R19V WR SUV 3 is the first winter tyre in Europe – and by default the world – to achieve this top label rating.