Trials of a new specification standard for eco tyres began in China on 1 March, the China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) reports. Standard number XXZB/LT-102-2014, which was originally proposed by the association, is the Chinese tyre industry’s first self-regulating green tyre standard and is based on the draft the CRIA opened for industry comment between 27 December and 20 January.
In summer 2013, Yokohama Rubber began building a passenger car tyre factory in China’s Jiangsu Province, the company shared today. The new plant is being erected adjacent to a truck and bus tyre factory operated by Chinese subsidiary Suzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., and is expected to begin production in April 2014. Production capacity will grow incrementally until it reaches six million tyres per annum by the end of 2017. Total investment in the plant will amount to approximately ¥26.5 billion (£153.7 million).
The China Rubber Industry Association reports that its ‘green tyre specifications’ document is currently open for input from the industry before its official launch during the first quarter of this year. The document was opened for comments on 27 December and will remain so until 20 January. According to the CRIA, the document defines what a green tyre is and sets out parameters to be used in a Chinese tyre label.
Rezulteo has offered the latest chapter in the reception history of European tyre labelling. Following on from research conducted by or on behalf of Goodyear Dunlop, NTDA/Lanxess, Encircle and the French tyre association (Syndicat des professionnels du pneu – SPP) tyre comparison website Rezulteo has weighed in with its own research conducted by the Ipsos Institute.
Tyre compound supplier Lanxess reports that “green Tyres” can reduce fuel consumption of trucks by 8.5 per cent following a road test on truck tyres. Working in partnership with chemical logistics provider Talke, with results the results independently verified by TÜV Rheinland, Lanxess found a fleet of 300 trucks would save £1.3 million a year in fuel costs by using so-called “green tyres”, making rolling resistance a key criterion for carriers when purchasing tyres.
Compliance to tyre labelling legislation is lower one year on from its introduction than it was in the opening months of the rules. According to research conducted by market analysts at Encircle Market, the amount of labelling talk has actually decreased since tyre labelling was introduced in November 2012. The research also reveals a number of other details demonstrating relative some degree of inertia when it comes to the subject of tyre labelling.
Developed in co-operation with Europe’s leading car manufacturers, the ContiEcoContact 5 “sets new standards in terms of the environment and safety”, according to Continental. As we all know, the continued challenge in tyre design is to reduce rolling resistance and wear whilst, at the same time, ensure that the tyre is still good at wet braking.
More manufacturers are selecting Yokohama’s flagship environmental BluEarth tyres for their model ranges, according to the company. Manufacturers such as Toyota, Lexus and Honda have all chosen the products as original equipment on some of the most recent additions to the range of hybrid and environmentally-friendly vehicles.
As the market approached the first anniversary of tyre labelling, at the start of October industry body ETRMA expressed the need for consistency and sustainability in regulation across Europe. “The European Tyre and Rubber Industry has a strong manufacturing presence in Europe and needs a sustainable regulatory framework, well-coordinated among different policy areas, to remain competitive despite this long economic crisis”, said Patrick Lepercq, President of ETRMA at the association’s board meeting today.
With Bridgestone claiming to ‘lead the way in quality, technologically innovative goods,’ it is unsurprising to hear of the brand’s significant advances in the area of sustainability and ‘green tyres.’ Bridgestone used the Geneva Motor Show 2013 as a platform to announce the successful development of the new ‘ologic technology tyre’ as large and narrow concept. The launch of the ologic is one of Bridgestone’s initiatives to achieve the goal of ‘contributing to globally agreed target (50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions)” defined for the group’s efforts toward reducing CO2 emissions in its long-term environmental vision.
Following on from the headline news that Lanxess/NTDA published at report detailing a UK retail perspective on 16 October, Tyres & Accessories is now publishing further details and discussion of the complete report . The initial findings were that the tyre labelling has so far been something of a “missed opportunity” for the tyre business […]
A new report published by Research and Markets suggests that the global “green” or eco-tyre market is expected to grow at a 9.82 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2012 and 2016.
Just a day after Goodyear Dunlop released its review of the impact of tyre labelling legislation on consumers across Europe, a Lanxess/NTDA report is painting a somewhat less rosy view of progress in this area. Details of the research are expected to be shared at tonight’s Tyre and Fast Fit Awards in Birmingham, with the full report scheduled for publication on the morning of 17 October. While it has to pointed out that the Lanxess/NTDA research centred on the UK only as opposed to Europe, it must als be said the conclusions appear to be somewhat different.
A year on from the introduction of European tyre labelling legislation, the longest term data available assessing its impact suggests it is increasingly influence consumer purchasing choices. According to research carried out by Ipsos MarketQuest across six European markets on behalf of Goodyear Dunlop, 54 per cent of consumers are aware of tyre labelling. However, what is perhaps more significant is that about three quarters (71 per cent) say that it has influenced their purchasing decision saying they “utilised its gradings on three performance criteria before making their purchase”. The research was conducted by MarketQuest in June and July 2013 among 4,200 consumers from UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland, who had bought tyres over the past six months.
Hankook is aiming to innovate with premieres in the fields of green tyres, performance, safety and premium original equipment, award-winning hybrids design-concepts as well as a new generation of airless, almost entirely recyclable tyres at the Korean company’s IAA stand. The 65th IAA, runs from 12 – 22 September 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany.
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