Continental shares that it has further improved the rolling resistance properties of a specific OEM EcoContact 6 tyre, and by doing so has set a “new rolling-resistance benchmark for the entire industry.” This rolling resistance properties of this tyre, which Continental supplies to Ford as original equipment, now surpass the EU tyre label’s ‘A’ category by more than 15 per cent.
“Registrations of light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes fell by -23.5 per cent in September, as a result of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) for vans and continued economic uncertainty”, said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association which represents franchised commercial vehicle and car retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s light commercial vehicle registration figures.
What Car?’s True MPG testing has revealed that new official fuel economy tests introduced late last year are providing more accurate results than ever before – with some cars even beating the official figures in the real world.
The Vehicle Remarketing Association has added its support to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association’s response to the current Government’s Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) consultation. Sam Watkins, chair at the VRA, said that her organisation shared the BVRLA’s concern about how the potential, negative impact on the company car sector could have widespread repercussions.
While presenting its nine-month 2018 results, Michelin has predicted a significant slowdown in passenger and truck tyre market conditions in the second half of the year. However, the well-known tyre manufacturer also predicted “sustained growth” in the speciality sector, which consists of OTR, two-wheel, aircraft and agricultural tyres.
A facility to test new vehicles for emissions has opened in the UK as car manufacturers battle a bottleneck in updating line-ups to the latest protocols.
The facility in Northampton, built by Mahle Powertrain, is unique in the UK, and is claimed to be the world’s first dedicated Real Driving Emissions test centre.
Introduction of the new vehicle emissions and fuel consumption test protocol, the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) is already having an impact on what wheels and tyres are available in the market. Of course, the size of vehicle wheels and consequently tyres is hugely influential in vehicle carbon dioxide (CO2) and fuel consumption (miles per gallon – MPG) performance and in recent years there has been a trend by motor manufacturers to fit larger wheels to vehicles, including even larger rim sizes as options.
The method of determining company car tax in the UK will change in April 2020 when the government switches over to the World Light-duty Test Procedure (WLTP) for measuring CO2 emissions, and Kwik-Fit suggests that the adoption of the WLTP could lead to larger diameter rim and tyre sizes falling out of favour.
To help it design tyres that contribute towards lower fuel consumption and, in electric vehicles, increased range, Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. has developed its own aerodynamic simulation technology. It calls it ‘Mobility Aerodynamics’ and says the technology “represents an advance never seen in the industry before.”
The automotive industry is now implementing a new ‘real-world’ emissions testing procedure for vehicles that will hopefully make quoted mpg figures a bit more accurate but could mean higher tax brackets for many cars. The push by manufacturers to produce vehicles that are more optimised for the new test will therefore likely see some trends in engine design change.
The latest Equa Air Quality (Aq) Index shows assumptions that two-wheel-drive vehicles are cleaner than four-wheel drives are wrong. Comparing two and four-wheel-drive test results reveals that the more capable models produce less nitrogen oxides when compared through real, on-road driving. Concentrating on the latest Euro 6 compliant vehicles, it shows the vast improvements that some manufacturers have made in helping cut harmful tailpipe emissions when developing new cars.
