Regulations

Green Labelling for Tyres

The European Parliament recently adopted a legislative resolution whereby it will become mandatory for tyre manufacturers and suppliers to label tyres according to their fuel-efficiency, safety and noise performance. The primary objective of this legislation is to promote the market transformation towards fuel-efficient tyres.

The tyre label system, effective as of 1 November 2012, will use fuel-efficiency classes ranging from best-performance to worst and will also indicate the tyre’s wet grip and noise performance, so that consumers can make an informed choice.

The US Transportation Department is also considering a similar labeling measure so that consumers can compare the energy consumption of the individual tyres they are selecting from. Fuel efficiency (via rolling resistance tests), safety (based on traction tests) and durability (using tread-wear life tests) would all be detailed on the proposed labels.

This kind of tyre labeling will allow consumers to see the trade-off between fuel efficiency and durability and how that balance of tyre performance characteristics varies from tyre to tyre; however, it is being questioned by tyre manufacturer representative bodies on cost grounds.

The information required on the tyre labels will require intensive testing to capture the proposed data, and consumers are the ones likely to pay a higher price in the end to cover the testing costs.

As yet, this kind of tyre labeling has not been considered in Australia – do you think it should be? Would you like to know all this information about your tyres, even though you may have to pay a higher price for them?

Tags: fuel-efficiency, tyre label