Page 28 - CTB N10 - 2015-02

NEWS EXTRA
Tyres and Fuel Management – The Race is On
It cannot have escaped the notice of most observers of the UK tyre market that premium tyre manufacturers are having to work increasingly hard to justify the cost of investing in their tyres. Latest estimates suggest that Chinese tyres may now make up as much
can really save money on fuel without it costing more in other areas. For example, the advent of labelling, although far from being viewed as a panacea, is generally considered to be a good thing. However, with self-certification and a labelling system which covers
more recently into “Effitires with Fuel Commitment”, which allows Michelin to offer a fuel saving commitment on their PPK contracts for the first time.
This is revolutionary in that it actually guarantees a fuel saving and offers a pro-rata rebate if the contracted fuel savings are not made. Michelin says it has already enabled fleets under contract to save an average of 1.5 litres of diesel per 100 km, per vehicle. Currently Michelin is the only new tyre manufacturer offering a fuel saving commitment of this kind, but if anything is certain in this world, it is the fact that the other leading players will not be far behind.
Indeed, Bridgestone are currently testing and validating
a tyre and fuel
management, which it
says will be able to demonstrate the fuel economy of Bridgestone tyres, whilst also providing measurable improvements on fuel economy by looking at issues such as route management and driving behaviour (idling, revving etc.). The system is claimed to be ready and is currently on trial in Europe with trusted fleet customers.
This system will be
backed up by
Bridgestone’s fuel
efficient product
range, which has also
been developed in
recent years - the
Ecopia fuel efficient
tyre, which Bridgestone says provides a 5% fuel saving over the previous Ecopia range, and the Bandag FuelTech retread range. Goodyear Dunlop, meanwhile, is also indicating that it is working on this subject following the successful introduction of the FuelMax and K Max truck tyre ranges. In an interview published elsewhere in this issue of Commercial Tyre Business, Goodyear’s Director of Commercial Tyres Marc Preedy reveals that they too are carrying out comparison trials with key fleets so that they will also be able to provide concrete data on how their tyres can save fuel.
Continental have not yet announced a programme like
Effitires, but they do have a number of building blocks specifically designed to contribute to Total Cost of Ownership, and therefore fuel saving.
These include the new Conti EcoPlus tyre range introduced at last year’s IAA show, which is claimed to reduce fuel consumption by up to 1.9 litres over 100 kilometres, whilst not compromising on mileage performance. The company has also been focusing heavily on the ContiPressureCheck system for monitoring tyre pressures, which effectively prevents over- consumption of fuel and damage to the tyres as a result of air pressure being too low, the ContiLifeCycle system of retreading
as 30% of the UK market. It is largely the middle ground that is currently being squeezed by the up-and-coming brands from Asia, but it is clear that premium manufacturers are having to do more and more to prove and measure what they can save in fuel and other costs as well as provide improved service to show they still have an advantage in terms of price/performance relationship over their competitors. Premium tyre manufacturers are increasingly becoming cost management companies with “Total Cost of Ownership” or “TCO” being the key buzz-word.
Fuel management, of course, is an integral part of the TCO concept. It is becoming increasingly important, however, for manufacturers to be able to demonstrate and prove that they
only three performance parameters, it is very easy to say you have an “A” for rolling resistance. Manufacturers have long since realised that they will have to go the extra mile to demonstrate the value of their tyres.
We are still in the very early days of the development of integrated tyre/fuel management concepts, but it is already becoming clear that a race is developing between the premium brands in this area. Out in the lead by some distance at the moment is Michelin, whose Effifuel programme broke the mould in that it approached the issue of tyre and fuel management from fuel saving first rather from the tyre first. Effifuel was the first of Michelin’s segmented range to be launched but has now been developed into “Effitires” and
and tyre recycling, and the Visual Alignment Indicator, all aimed at reducing TCO, which includes reduced fuel consumption.
With Michelin setting the pace in the race to provide effective tyre and fuel management systems, and with others hot on their heels, the next few years may reveal some fundamental changes to how commercial vehicle tyres are managed in the UK. It will be a necessary move for the premium tyre manufacturers, if they are to halt the Chinese tidal wave and maintain their technological advantage.
28 Commercial Tyre Business