Tire label
Encyclopedia
The Tire Label is a mark for motor vehicle tires. Manufacturers of tires for cars, light and heavy trucks must specify fuel consumption, wet grip and noise classification of the product by means of a sticker or a label starting in November 2012. This information must also be included in the technical promotional materials. The tire label will use a classification from the best (green category "A") to the worst performance (red category "G").
This initiative results from a proposal by the EU Commission in 2008. It is part of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, designed to improve the energy performance of products, buildings and services to reduce energy consumption by 20% until 2020. The EU has already created a system for marking of electrical household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and televisions with the intent to inform the European population better about the level of their consumption.
(Source: European Commission)
Tire dealer
Car manufacturer
EU-Commission
Automotive manufacturers require the very highest standard across all these performance factors before they approve tires for their new vehicles.
Furthermore, widely published tire tests also take these performance factors into account and therefore continue to be an excellent source of independent information regarding the total performance of a tire.
This initiative results from a proposal by the EU Commission in 2008. It is part of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, designed to improve the energy performance of products, buildings and services to reduce energy consumption by 20% until 2020. The EU has already created a system for marking of electrical household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and televisions with the intent to inform the European population better about the level of their consumption.
(Source: European Commission)
Tires that must be labeled
The Tire Label will generally apply to:- Bicycle tires
- Car and SUV tires
- Van tires
- Truck tires
- Tractor tires
- Forklift tires
Exemptions from labelling
- Tires for cars made before 1 Oct 1990.
- Re-treaded tires
- Motorcycle tires
- Racing/sports car tires
- Studded tires
- Spare tires
- Vintage car tires
- 4WD and all-terrain tires
Tax on noisy tires
Tires that make too much noise as determined by the EU, will have an extra tax/penalty imposed on them from November 2012.Reporting requirements
Tire manufacturer- Provision of the EU Tire Label in form of a sticker on or with the tire.
- Provision of the Tire Label values within specific product communication materials.
Tire dealer
- Provision of the Tire Label values on or with the invoice.
- The Tire Label has to be clearly vivible within the point of sale or actively shown to the consumer.
Car manufacturer
- The Tire Label values have to be made available at the initial purchse of a car, only when the consumer has the chaoice of more than one type of tire.
EU-Commission
- Detailed information about contents and design of the label.
- Each EU member state is to organise monitoring and impose penalties in cases of non-compliance.
Critical View
The new label is designed to show information regarding 3 criteria, however there are many other important performance factors to consider including:- Resistance to aquaplaning
- Driving stability
- Handling and steering precision on wet and dry roads
- Durability
- Braking performance on dry roads
- Capabilities in winter conditions
Automotive manufacturers require the very highest standard across all these performance factors before they approve tires for their new vehicles.
Furthermore, widely published tire tests also take these performance factors into account and therefore continue to be an excellent source of independent information regarding the total performance of a tire.