With the latest SMMT data naming the Tesla Model 3 as the most popular new-car December as well as the second most popular in 2021 – no-one can deny that the era of electric vehicles is well and truly upon. However, while internal combustion engines (ICE) have generally separated engine, wheel and tyre, electric vehicles are bringing this vital mobility components closer together than ever.
On 6 January REE Automotive announced the appointment of David Goldberg as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO). Effective Feb 2022, Goldberg joins REE from Magna International, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, where he is currently senior vice president of corporate development, following a role as vice president of finance and corporate development at the company.
Royal Mail is embarking on six- to nine-month trial of Enso Tyres’ electric van-orientated tyres. The trial, a partnership between Royal Mail, Transport for London (TfL) and Enso, aims to make “Electric Vehicles (EVs) even cleaner to further improve air quality”, according to the stakeholders. According, to Tyres & Accessories’s 2021 survey of public tyre fleets, Royal Mail is the second-largest fleet in the UK.
TyreSafe is advising owners of electric vehicles (EVs) to “pay close attention to the tyres they choose when the originals need replacing” because “increasingly, the tyres fitted are specifically designed for use on EVs and can be significantly different to the ‘normal’ tyres…”. Specifically, TyreSafe is warning EV owners that fitting the wrong type of tyre could result in “loss of range, extra noise, accelerated wear and the risk of failing while being driven, which could result in a serious incident”.
Sailun Tire Group is developing the ERange EV, tyre line-up in order to cater for growing demand for electric vehicles. According to Sailun Tire Americas, the new range is expected to reach the (US) market in 2022. At the point of its launch, the ERange EV portfolio will offer 90 per cent coverage of the electric vehicles on sale.
Yokohama is supplying its Advan Sport V107 tyres to BMW for the manufacturer’s new iX3. The German marque’s first sports activity vehicle (SAV) with an all-electric-drive system uses three sizes of the Advan Sport V107 on the new electric SAV: 245/50R19 105W, 245/45R20 103W, and 275/40R20 106W. Yokohama began shipping the tyres to the BMW Group in September 2020.
About a year ago Continental announced its selection as a tyre supplier to the ID.3, and under this arrangement is providing original equipment EcoContact 6 summer tyres, WinterContact TS 850P winter tyres and AllSeasonContact all-season tyres. But tyres are only one of a host of Continental products and technologies going into the new all-electric range. The company is also supplying computer equipment, brake technology, hose lines, heat pumps and driver assistance systems.
In what has, for obvious reasons, been dubbed a Covid-19 budget, new UK Chancellor the Exchequer (the Right Honorable Rishi Sunak MP) promised the highest levels of inward investment for 30 years including a number of initiatives that will help small and medium-sized business such as tyre retailers and garages.
The latest eco-friendly offering from Kumho is the Ecowing ES31. This successor to the KH27 is now available in a total of 46 sizes for 14- to 17-inch rim diameters, and around 70 percent of these carry an EU label grade of ‘B’ for rolling resistance. The sizes include all key fitments for bestselling small and medium-sized hatchbacks and saloons such as the VW Polo and Golf, Fiat 500, Audi A1, A2, A3 and A4, BMW 1 and 2 Series, Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio.
Volkswagen’s first fully electric race car, the ID.R has broken the electric-powered vehicle lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, using Bridgestone Potenza tyres. The car completed the challenging 20.83km track in 6:05.336 minutes, beating the previous record by 40.56 seconds. Bridgestone custom-developed the Potenza tyres to help the ID.R navigate the demanding track in record-breaking time.
Audi has selected Bridgestone as its tyre supplier for the release of its first all-electric SUV, the Audi e-tron. The companies agreed a list of characteristics required to highlight the specifications of the new model. The e-tron boasts fast acceleration, high comfort, very low noise, and high levels of safety without dropping performance. Bridgestone will supply six different tyres sized between 19 and 21 inches, four summer and two winter tyres, as original equipment. The manufacturer has emphasised the original equipment channel recently, achieving “more than 120 OE fitments” in EMEA during 2018, a result it labelled its best ever.
Bridgestone is pushing its high performance tyre design into new areas with its supply of the sporty new BMW i3s electric car.
Chinese bus fleet operator Guangzhou Jumbo Bus Co Ltd. intends to convert its entire fleet of LNG-powered buses to electric propulsion over the coming three years, and as it does so will exclusively shod its fleet with Hankook tyres. Jumbo Bus, which operates six city bus companies and a total of 4,500 buses, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hankook Tire this month covering the supply of tyres specifically developed for electric buses.
With recent legislation aiming to banish non-electric vehicles from both showrooms and city centres (starting with Oxford, which wants them gone by 2020) car manufacturers are preparing for electric power to become the mainstream. Electric propulsion has emerged by consensus as the future of driving, rather than other alternative technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells.
Under a cooperative deal signed with Hyundai Motor, Michelin will work together to develop a new all-season tyre for electric vehicles, and will also collaborate in the development of a bespoke tyre for a successor model to the Genesis G80 saloon. Representatives from Hyundai Motor recently visited Michelin’s research and development centre in Clermont-Ferrand, France, to sign a technical partnership agreement.
REE
REE; Jason Cipparrone
Royal Mail
TyreSafe
Sailun Tire Americas
BMW
Chris McAndrew