Other

Tyres

Tyres affect both the energy and environmental performance of our vehicles.

They account for 20-30% of the fuel consumption of vehicles, mainly because of their rolling resistance. With the transport sector making up one third of European energy consumption, a reduction of rolling resistance is crucial to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gases emissions.

Reducing the rolling noise of tyres will decrease noise pollution, something which has been proven to have an adverse impact on health.

Tyres are affected by an abrasion phenomenon which produces ‘’tyre and road wear particles’’ (TRWP). They account for a significant amount of the particle pollution into the air, and contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. There is also evidence that tyres abrasion is one of the main contributors to microplastics pollution in water resources.

What is the EU doing?

Tyres are energy-related products covered by the General Safety Regulation N. 661/2009 and the Tyre Labelling Regulation 1222/2009, two regulations that provide a framework comparable to the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives.

Since 1 November 2012, the tyres label allows consumers to compare products in terms of their fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise levels. The label is complemented by minimum requirements on the same parameters, designed to remove the worst tyres from the market.

A review process of the Tyre Labelling Regulation started in 2015, a preparatory study made by an independent consultancy in 2016 has made recommendations on how to improve the regulation.

What does the Coolproducts campaign want?

Our detailed analysis of the Tyres Regulation will be developed in the course of 2018, however it is already clear that the tyre labelling scheme clearly needs to be strengthened:

Market analyses show that the label is not sufficiently seen by consumers when they purchase a new tyre. The Tyre Regulation should follow the example of the Energy Labelling revised regulation and make sure that the label is displayed when products are sold both in shops and online, and also refer to the energy class in advertisements as a minimum.
Market surveillance of tyres must be strengthened to ensure the proper enforcement of this regulation. The creation of an EU database of labelled products provides an opportunity for this.
The information on the label should be extended to parameters such as abrasion and durability.