New European Tyre Label set for May 2021 introduction

Seven years after the initial introduction of the European Tyre Label, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have decided on the next phase of the European Tyre Label, which is set to be introduced on 1 May 2021. Article 14 of the agreement requires a review of the regulation by June 2025.

The pass-by noise part of the label has been redesigned in order to represent the sound level with a letter rating.

As has been previously reported, the overall tyre labelling concept remains broadly similar to the first generation, but with the addition of a number of extra data points and with just five letter classes rather than seven. This effectively reduces the available tyre label grades to A B C D E categories, eliminating F and G. However, because the new E category is the same as the old F category and because D equates to a zero grade boundary on the current passenger car tyre label, the change is really just a distribution of the existing grades across few letters.

The new rules include reinforced market surveillance and penalties in order to improve compliance and enforcement of the labelling regulations. There may even be tax or incentives to buy A rated products.

There will also an obligation to report label information to national authorities, which, paired with the introduction of a tyre registration database, is designed to enable better product and market visibility for consumers and authorities alike. The new tyre registration database will be partly accessible by the public and partly restricted to authorities.

Information to be entered in the public part of the database by the supplier will include: the name or trademark, address, contact details and other legal identification of the supplier; the tyre type identifier; the label in electronic format; the class(es) and other parameters of the label; and the parameters of the product information sheet in electronic format.

Beneath the main label the Ice grip identifier has also been changed.

Information to be entered in the compliance part of the database includes: the tyre type identifier of all equivalent tyre types already placed on the market; a general description of the tyre type, including its dimensions, load index and speed rating, sufficient for it to be unequivocally and easily identified; protocols of the testing, grading and measurement of tyre parameters; and specific precautions, if any, that shall be taken when the tyre type is assembled, installed, maintained or tested. Article 5.1 brings the product database into force from May 2021.

Since one of the key goals of labelling was to reduce emissions and to encourage circular economies, a retread tyre label for C3 tyres will be brought in within two years.

Visual changes

The latest version of the European Tyre Label has been visually remodelled along the lines of the European Energy Label.

Starting at the top of the label the addition of a built-in QR code at the top of the label is evident.

Rolling resistance/fuel consumption and wet grip performance remain the main part of the label – albeit with redesigned icons and the aforementioned rationalisation of the letter categories.

The pass-by noise part of the label has been redesigned in order to represent the sound level with a letter rating. However, the decibel value remains. Alongside this, the ice grip identifier has been changed too.

And finally, the sharp-eyed amongst us will have noticed that – even with the new noise and ice-grip icons – space has been left for the addition of a graphic depicting data from the forthcoming abrasion test.

The latest version of the European Tyre Label has been visually remodelled along the lines of the European Energy Label.