Continental: All our tyres are electric vehicle compatible

Some tyremakers say you need specialist EV tyres, some don’t. Others have tried to straddle the fence with a bit of both. Continental has consistently argued that its tyres are of sufficient quality to handle the extra weight and torque demands of electric vehicles. Now, however, the German tyremaker has gone a step further and announced that it is so confident that “all current tyres from Continental already meet the high requirements of electric cars” that in future the company’s tyres will bear a new EV-compatible logo, highlighting Continental’s comprehensive EV product strategy.

“We are convinced that there is no one tyre for all electric vehicles. This is why we have optimised our entire tyre portfolio for this drive type too. With our new EV-Compatible logo, we are making that visible,” said Enno Straten, Head of Strategy, Analytics and Marketing for Continental Tires EMEA, adding: “Our customers can count on the fact that tyres from Continental are always the right choice – and, of course, that applies to electric cars too.”

Continental’s current tyre strategy for electric vehicles also offers tyre dealers  advantages since Continental’s product portfolio won’t become any more complex as a result. This makes storage easier, simplifies the processes involved in selection, ordering, stocking and logistics. As a result, valuable resources can be saved from production right through to when the tyre is fitted.

In addition to the sidewall of its tyres, Continental will be using the EV-Compatible logo in all order systems as well as marketing materials – both online and offline – and in showrooms in the future.

90% of electric car manufacturers fit Continental tyres

In 2022, nine of the ten of the most successful manufacturers of electric vehicles fitted Continental tyres including Tesla, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. Asian OEMs such as Kia and BYD as well as American vehicle manufacturers such as Ford, also rely on tyres from Continental for the original equipment of their electric vehicles.

In the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Americas (North, South and Central America) regions, the five most successful manufacturers are all original equipment customers. In the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region, four of the five most successful manufacturers of electric vehicles place their trust in tyres from Continental.

Hybridised and all-electric vehicles are available in all passenger car segments today. The selection ranges from cabin scooters, small and mid-size cars and SUVs right through to high-performance sports cars. What’s more, vehicles are now being offered ranges that rival those of diesel vehicles. As with vehicles with combustion engines, individual tyre configurations are required for every type of electric vehicle. For high-performance electric vehicles with large batteries, for example, the focus is on handling-oriented tyres with high mileage, while small cars should have low rolling resistance to optimise their range.