Environmental impact of tyres debated at Michelin panel event

Progress towards more sustainable tyres needs to be accelerated in order to reduce their environmental impact, according to members of the Michelin fleet panel.

At an event in Wakefield, Martin Thompson, chair of the fleet panel, talked about the manufacturer’s target of using 100% sustainable materials in its tyres by 2050, and 40% by 2030 and he urged the industry to make quicker progress.

He also reinforced the importance of extracting the full performance out of every tyre: “It’s vitally important we better educate fleet managers and customers about how to avoid unnecessary raw material wastage, specifically that it is safe to use tyres down to the 1.6mm legal tread depth limit,” he said.

Panel members also called for the industry to place more focus on analysing tyre wear on EVs, saying the current lack of data was making it difficult to make informed buying decisions.

Thompson said: “Leasing and rental companies want to be able to communicate that data to their customers so they can speed up their transition to EVs. Michelin is manufacturing tyres specifically for EVs to help with tyre wear and battery range, and that’s a message we are communicating more widely.”

Lorna McAtear, head of fleet at National Grid, said the industry needed to tackle some myths around EVs; “There are some misconceptions that all tyres wear out quicker on EVs,” she said.

“The industry needs to deliver clearer messaging to ensure people have the best performing and safest tyres on their EVs, and that they don’t cost more than tyres for internal combustion-engined vehicles.”

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