Pirelli: EV fitments growing at double 2022’s rate, brand most-seen on new EVs at IAA Munich

Pirelli has claimed leadership in supplying tyres for premium and prestige electric cars at the IAA Mobility car show in Munich. Pirelli equipped almost 25 per cent of the BEV cars and 30 per cent of the plug-in hybrids among the new electric cars on display. The cars were fitted with a mix of Pirelli’s products, such as its P Zero performance and its Scorpion SUV ranges, all featuring the company’s “Elect” marking that signifies that the models have been developed with EV-specific technologies. The Italian brand said that its original equipment homologations for EVs have grown at a rate more than double that on the previous year.

Pirelli launched Elect in 2019, and Pirelli tyres equipped with these EV-ready technologies have won 300 homologations; 300 tyres specifically adapted for individual models. Pirelli says demand for these products has rocketed: compared to the same period last year, new homologations in the first half of 2023 grew at 125 per cent of last year. It adds that this underlines its increasing prominence in electric mobility.

The only hydrogen car at the IAA Mobility Show, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen, was also equipped with Pirelli tyres. It was fitted with the FSC-marked P Zero: the only tyre in the world made with natural rubber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Pirelli’s Elect package of EV tyre technologies

Piero Misani, Pirelli’s senior vice president of research and development and cyber, said: “The leadership we have achieved in electric mobility underlines the innovation of our research and development division. Pirelli is the only manufacturer to have transverse technology for electric cars that is still applicable to all our other product lines. This approach allows us greater versatility to offer car manufacturers tailor-made tyres best suited to the specific characteristics of each car. The demand for bespoke BEV and PHEV tyres is growing faster and faster, with the debut of the new P Zero E set to enhance yet more Elect homologation approvals.”

Pirelli’s Elect package of technologies were developed to complement the characteristics of electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Usually heavier and possessing instant torque, making the tyres even more important, the structure and materials used in Elect tyres can resist these demands and respond with greater reactivity, making them even more durable. Silent running makes acoustic comfort more important, so Pirelli Elect helps to reduce cabin noise by up to 20 per cent versus a non-Elect tyre. Battery range can be extended by tyres with reduced rolling resistance, and Pirelli’s Elect variant can help to increase range by up to 10 per cent on a full charge. These tests were conducted internally by Pirelli R&D, using an Audi e-Tron and the VW ID.4 on 255/50R20 and 235/60R18 sized Pirelli Scorpion and Scorpion Elect tyres respectively.

New Pirelli P Zero E AAA rated UHP EV tyre

The new Pirelli P Zero E high performance electric car tyre is Pirelli’s latest product for this market, with Elect technology standard on all sizes. The tyre is made using more than 55 per cent materials of natural and recycled origin, independently verified by Bureau Veritas. Depending on the tyre size, bio-based and recycled content ranges between 29-31 and 25-27 per cent respectively. Bio-based materials are natural rubber, textile reinforcements, bio-chemicals, bio-resins and lignin, while recycled materials are metallic reinforcements, chemicals and – through mass balance – synthetic rubber, silica and carbon black. Pirelli adds it is the only ultra-high performance tyre on the market to have obtained a triple-A label score throughout the entire range.