Red Dot Design Award for upcoming electric bus tyre
Hankook Tire & Technology shares its latest triumph, being named ‘Winner’ in the Product Design category at the Red Dot Design Award 2024.
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Developed with EVs in mind – Davanti DX440
With increasing consumer demand and the greater availability of electric models, the number of electric cars in the UK has rapidly grown. When looking at how this increase is playing out in the fleet market, research from the SMMT indicates that three out of every four new electric vehicles were registered to fleets.
Continental extends e-mobility strategy to secondary brands
For the past year or so, the latest Continental tyre lines have featured an EV-Compatible sidewall logo. Continental is now extending use of this logo to secondary brands and will include it on all newly launched passenger car and 4×4 tyre lines. The presence of the logo across Continental’s consumer range for all tiers confirms that every new tyre meets the high requirements of electric vehicles while at the same time supporting conventionally powered vehicles in driving efficiently and safely.
June launch for new ZC Rubber EV tyre lines
ZC Rubber (Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd.) will launch a new EV-specific tyre series at The Tire Cologne in June. The tyre maker, ranked by Tyrepress.com as the world’s ninth largest, says these products are set to “revolutionise the electric vehicle tyre market.”
Specialist vs all-rounder – Auto Bild tests tyres for EVs
Manufacturers approach tyre suitability for electric vehicles from varying angles. While some believe that EVs require specialised fitments, a growing number promote their entire product ranges as equally suitable for electric, petrol and diesel vehicles. Examining both approaches, Auto Bild has tested five standard tyre models and three specialised EV tyres. It fitted these eight products to a Kia EV6 in size 235/55 R19.
Pirelli adds two P Zero Porsche Taycan tyres to its Elect range
PirelliPorsche has chosen Pirelli P Zero R and P Zero Trofeo tyres for its restyled Taycan and has exclusively appointed Pirelli to supply tyres for the Taycan Turbo GT. According to the company, the first tyre is designed for “supercars’ everyday driving”, while the second is a street-legal semi-slick tyre. Both were launched earlier this year and have been specifically adapted in collaboration with the German carmaker. And both feature the Elect marking on the sidewall, indicating a package of technological solutions to suit the characteristics of electric vehicles and made its debut in 2019 on the first generation of the Porsche Taycan. Porsche’s range includes over 30 Pirelli homologated tyres bearing the Elect designation, accompanying Porsche’s electric transition on different models, such as the Macan.
Yokohama extends E+ mark to CV tyres
Yokohama recently joined the ranks of brands with a symbol denoting a tyre’s suitability for electric vehicles. This is the E+ sidewall marking, which Yokohama Rubber debuted on the Yokohama Advan Sport EV last year. The tyre maker is now extending the E+ mark to commercial tyres, initially on two Yokohama bus tyre models, one sold in the European market and one in Japan.
Yokohama launches Advan Sport EV A/S in America
Roughly six months the introduction of the Advan Sport EV in Europe, and less than a week after the tyremaker previewed the arrival of its ‘superbly quiet’ Advan dB V553 in Japan, Yokohama has launched the Advan Sport EV A/S in the US.
Enso partners with In’n’Out Autocentres and M4 Tyres
Enso has expanded its service network via fitting partnerships with IN’n’OUT Autocentres and M4 Tyres. This distribution expansion follows Enso’s nomination as a finalist in the Clear Our Air Category of Prince William’s The Earthshot Prize. And, according to the company, “reaffirms Enso’s commitment to setting new standards for London’s electric taxi industry”, by providing access to its “double-A rated specialist EV tyres across the entire city”.
Goodyear introducing EV-Ready sidewall logo from 2024
To inform prospective customers that its entire current and upcoming passenger tyre range is “optimised to deliver exceptional performance for electric and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles,” Goodyear has introduced a new sidewall logo. This Goodyear EV-Ready logo will appear on all replacement tyres from the beginning of 2024.
Nokian Tyres developing tyres for Polestar 0 project
The Polestar 0 project aims to create a climate-neutral car by 2030, eliminating all sources of CO2 emissions throughout the vehicle’s supply chain, manufacturing processes and end of life without offsetting them. Nokian Tyres has joined the project and is developing climate-neutral tyres for the car.
ChatGPT helping Hankook Tire to gain EV insights
Why survey people when you can draw upon all the wisdom of the internet? Hankook Tire & Technology has turned to artificial intelligence to gain insights into consumer attitudes towards electric vehicles, developing a Voice of Customer (VOC) analysis system based upon ChatGPT for this purpose. The Korean firm collaborated with data cloud computing companies Amazon Web Services and Snowflake to build an integrated VOC data analysis system.
Hankook Tire doubles operating profit, halves capex
Hankook Tire & Technology reports consolidated sales of KRW 2,340.0 billion (£1.4 billion) and an operating profit of KRW 396.3 billion (£243.9 million) for Q3 2023. These results respectively represent year-on-year increases of 1.8% and 106%.
US debut for Toyo Open Country A/T III EV
Toyo Tires has extended its all-terrain tyre range for North America to include a tyre aimed at electric trucks and SUVs. The tyre maker designed and is manufacturing the Toyo Open Country A/T III EV in the USA and plans to offer “a wide range of unique sizes and high-load combinations for 18- to 24-inch wheel diameters.” No word from Toyo so far about a UK or European launch.
Hankook debuts EV all-season tyre
The first European market Hankook all-season tyre aimed at electric vehicles arrives this month. The Hankook iON FlexClimate is a range for both cars and SUVs and initially comes to market in eight popular sizes. Hankook intends to expand the range in the short term to cover other common dimensions for 17- to 21-inch rim diameters.
