According to the tire maker, recent truck tire developments have had a significant effect on reducing CO₂ emissions made by commercial vehicles. Meanwhile, it says, the EU tire label has also been extremely effective in achieving CO₂ reduction across the transport industry.
The wider use of rolling resistance optimized truck tires such as Fuelmax, which is Goodyear’s most fuel efficient truck tire range, can significantly reduce emissions of CO₂ as well as cut fuel consumption. Calculations show that by changing from C-grade tires in the EU fuel efficiency tire label category to B-grade Fuelmax tires on a standard European 40-tonne truck and trailer traveling 78,000km per year, a reduction in CO₂ emissions of approximately 3.2 tonnes per year can be achieved. Bearing in mind that there are millions of trucks and trailers operating in Europe, the opportunity for reducing emissions by using more fuel efficient truck tires is enormous.
Says Michel Rzonzef VP of the commercial business at Goodyear EMEA, “One of the main areas of focus in our development work is the reduction of rolling resistance. This means lower fuel costs for our customers and less emissions for the environment. Thanks to the introduction of the EU tire label in 2012, the efficiency of tires in this respect is in plain view. So choosing the truck tyres with the best fuel efficiency grade is a simple yet important task. It also has the added benefit that it reduces the total cost of ownership for fleet operators. By encouraging truck operators simply to change their tires from a C to a B-grade in fuel efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by approximately 3.2 tonnes per vehicle per year. In addition, annual savings of more than €1,300 per vehicle can be achieved.”
A recently presented study by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association analyzed work carried out by Transport & Mobility Leuven and reported that an integrated approach including all actors of the road transport sector has the potential to double the annual CO₂ reduction rate from trucks, to up to 3.5% compared focusing only on new vehicles. One key element in achieving this, which is easy to implement, is to fit fuel efficient truck tires on existing trucks in Europe.
June 6, 2016
