Kenda: Technical investment behind strong TCS test results

In recent test results published by the Swiss Touring Club (TCS) Kenda Tire Europe’s KR210 Kenetica Pro tyre beat some of the biggest names in the business in certain test criteria on the way to achieving a three star ‘recommended’ rating. The reason? Kenda “firmly attributes” this success to its ongoing investment in its research and development centre.

The Kenda Europe Technical Centre (KETC) which opened in 2018 in Winsen, Germany, employs a team led by Frits van der Steege, technical director for Kenda Europe and Starco. Here, Kenda tyres are rigorously tested both on the road and in the lab.

In the TCS tests, the Kenda KR210 Kenetica Pro came 11th place out of 50 summer tyres (across: budget, quality or second line, and premium). The tests were carried out by TCS experts at its headquarters in Ostermundigen, Switzerland to celebrate 50 years of testing.

Specifically, the Kenda KR210 Kenetica Pro, which was engineered in the KETC in Germany, beat five of the premium branded tyres tested in terms of overall grade. It also reported good results on both wet and dry road surfaces. In terms of safety, it achieved a 1 per cent higher rating on wet roads and an overall four per cent increase on a comparable tyre. Furthermore, its environmental performance was said to be “on par with the premium segment”.

“We are very proud of our position. The results of these tests prove that we are heading in the right direction,” explains Kenda’s Henno Plaggenborg, Director of Automotive Division, Europe.

“Pivotal to this success is our committed investment in a large-scale expansion of our European development facility, which includes modern development laboratories and the very latest measuring and testing technology for quality control.”