Cooper Tire Europe has launched a new product for van drivers. Called the Cooper Evolution Van All Season, the tyre is approved for year-round usage in countries with seasonal tyre regulations and bears the 3PMSF snowflake within a three-peaked mountain logo on the sidewall as evidence of this.
The latest figures from the SMMT confirm that electric vehicle uptake is accelerating, with 21,726 vehicles sold in November, equating to 18.8 per cent of the market. However, motorists embracing electrification for the first time need to consider the impact of harsh weather conditions on battery performance, says Venson Automotive Solutions.
Belfast last-mile van fleet FJM Logistics has opted to fit Michelin’s all-season van tyre, the Agilis CrossClimate, across its 37 vans. Michelin says the move will halve the number of tyres fitted over the coming year, as well as offering year-round traction and grip. FJM Logistics delivers up to 5,000 parcels every day, and the intensiveness of its operations led managing director Fraser Orr to take a closer look at the firm’s tyre fitment policy.
Déjà vu aplenty in this year’s Auto Express all-season tyre test. The publication returned to the 205/55R16 size it last looked at in 2019, and the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 that participated in the test two years ago was back as a contender in 2021. Same tester, same tyre, same size. But this is where the similarities end; whereas the Hankook tyre finished seventh in the 2019 test, this year it won.
Apollo Tyres expresses pride in its Vredestein brand’s podium finishes in Auto Bild’s annual Tyre Manufacturer of the Year awards. The leading German car magazine awarded Vredestein joint second in the winter tyre category and joint third place in the all-season category.
After conducting no less than five comparative evaluations for various Auto Bild titles, testing specialists Dierk Möller and Henning Klipp possess a solid understanding of which all-season and winter tyres are worth recommending, and which aren’t. Auto Bild has presented a summary of Möller and Klipp’s testing for the current season in its 42/2021 issue and at the same time has named its leading manufacturers in the all-season and winter categories. Three brands occupy the podium’s upper step.
The results of comparative tyre tests are a familiar site on the pages of Tyrepress.com during the autumn, with numerous motoring associations and publications releasing the results of their all-season and winter tests at this time of year. Hankook was present in many of these and victorious in two, the Auto Bild Sportscars winter test and Auto Bild Allrad all-season evaluation. UK site Tyre Reviews also gave the Hankook entrant is editor’s recommendation, exclaiming that the brand seems “to be on a roll at the moment.”
All-season tyres have found favour with tyre testers in recent years, but Auto Bild points out that most tests focus on tyres for small and compact cars. To address a dearth of testing for sporty mid-sized saloons, the German motoring publication has evaluated 32 tyre models in size 225/50 R17. In Auto Bild tradition, the testers performed wet and dry braking tests to pare down the field of candidates to a shortlist of the 16 top performers. They then subjected the finalists to various tests in dry, wet and snowy conditions and also evaluated characteristics such as rolling resistance, mileage potential and price-performance ratio.
Changan, one of China’s top-selling domestic automotive brands, has unveiled its first all-electric model, the C385. Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) is supplying original equipment tyres to the new electric Changan, which will wear the SU318a all-season tyre in size 245/45 R19.
A further 25 new dimensions are joining the Vredestein all-season tyre portfolio in response to fast-growing demand for these products. These fitments for 15- to 22-inch rim diameters expand three ranges, the Vredestein Quatrac line for compact and family cars and SUVs, Quatrac Pro for high-performance cars and SUVs and Comtrac 2 all-season+ for commercial vehicles.
In 2015, Michelin disrupted the all-season tyre market with the launch of the CrossClimate – a tyre that approached year-round performance from a different direction. Now, following the launch its successor (the CrossClimate 2) in the US at the end of 2020, the world’s largest tyremaker has released a new European market-orientated version which builds on the already impressive performance of the first generation and tunes the concept demonstrated by the US edition for the European market. For example, according to Michelin, the Cross Climate 2 “delivers a 10% reduction in rolling resistance when compared to its best-selling predecessor thanks to a Cool Running Sidewall designed to improve fuel efficiency or electric vehicle battery range…” amongst other enhancements.
Parky mornings and evenings are one sign that summer is on the wane. The appearance of all-season and winter tyre tests is another. The first to arrive this year is from German motoring magazine Autozeitung, which has looked at the commonly-fitted small car size 205/55 R16.
Davanti Tyres and automotive design house Sterling Automotive Design will mark their Commercial Vehicle Show debut on its return this year (Stand 5D95, Birmingham NEC, 31 August – 2 September) with the unveiling of Davanti’s new all-season van tyre. The Vantoura 4-Seasons will join Davanti’s Protoura Sport, which has sizes suitable for van conversions, the DX440 van tyre, and Terratoura A/T tyre for commercial pickups. It is the first time Davanti will exhibit its entire commercial vehicle tyre range together.
Giti Tire’s all-season tyre range has been boosted by 13 new sizes of the GT Radial 4Seasons tyre. Launched in May 2018 at Tire Cologne, the passenger car portfolio has increased by eight sizes to stand at 28, and now covers 26 of the 30 of the most in-demand sizes in Europe. The manufacturer has added five new SUV-marked tyres, bringing the SUV derivative up to a total of eight size options. The GT Radial 4Seasons range now includes 13 of the top 20 SUV size combinations in Europe, which equates to 70 per cent of market demand.
A new commercial trailer tyre has joined the Nokian Hakka Truck range. With the launch of the Hakka Truck Trailer, Nokian Heavy Tyres now offers an all-weather fitment for every axle position.
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