The winter tyre is 90 years old in 2024. Nokian Tyres brought the Kelirengas, its first product with a winter-specific tread pattern, to market in 1934. This was also the year that Continental threw its hat into the winter tyre ring with a tyre called the Gelände.
Michelin has sold around 13 million Alpin winter tyres over six generations and has now launched a seventh – the Michelin Alpin 7. Designed for combustion, electric and hybrid vehicles, the new tyre will be available for this coming winter in 62 dimensions. According to the manufacturer, Michelin Alpin 7 offers a six per cent improvement in braking on snow-covered roads and nine per cent less rolling resistance than the Alpin 6.
Avon has expanded its WX7 winter tyre range with the addition of 12 SKUs for 17- to 19-inch rim diameters. The new dimensions grow the range to a total of 29 sizes to give increased access to a “broad spectrum of cars.”
Across the Atlantic, Yokohama Tire Corporation, the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has launched the Geolandar A/T XD. The Geolandar A/T XD is engineered for “full-size pickup trucks and commercial vans”. It is severe snow service-rated and moulded for optional studs purportedly offering “outstanding on- and off-road traction all year round”. The A/T XD is initially available in 21 sizes ranging from 16 to 20 inches, with more sizes coming later in the year.
Following the announcement that PSA UK has added Reliance tyres to its British Eurorepar offer. The next question is, who makes the Reliance tyre brand? The good news is that colleagues at our German sister publication (Neue Reifenzeitung, which you can read online at reifenpresse.de) looked into this at the end of 2019 and found strong evidence that the tyres are made by Hankook.
Falken has expanded the size range of the Eurowinter HS01 winter tyre in both passenger car and SUV versions. From a previous range of 66 sizes, 99 sizes are now available in the Eurowinter HS01 tyre, spanning the most popular applications. The SUV model, the Eurowinter HS01 SUV, is now available in 39 different sizes. The expansion to the range coincides with Auto Bild’s top-ten verdict and overall rating of ‘Good’ for the tyre in its 2018 winter tyre test.
Vredestein launched the Wintrac Pro at The Tire Cologne, with arguably the best-attended press conference in the exhibition halls and no small amount of fanfare.
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Yokohama
Hankook; PSA; NRZ