The Commercial Vehicle Show is the ideal place for manufacturers in the sector to launch new products and services to market, and Transport News Brief caught up with some of the tyre firms to find out what’s new.
Continental, Goodyear and Michelin have all brought new products to the exhibition this year, with many using it as the ideal opportunity to debut them to the UK audience.
Continental has brought the brand new Conti Eco Plus and Hybrid ranges to the CV Show. The Eco Plus range has been developed to provide up to a 26% reduction in rolling resistance on the previous generation tyre.
It has been specially designed for use predominantly on motorway and long distance transportation, while the Hybrid range is for city and regional distribution vehicles weighing up to 12 tonnes. They have both been developed to combine long tyre life with better fuel efficiency.
Michelin previewed its latest trailer tyre at the Show, ahead of a European launch later this summer.
Sharn Samra, UK Head of Truck Marketing for Michelin, said that the new trailer tyre, the 385/65 R 22.5 X Multi T, will be an “industry game changer” with the key reason being the inclusion of Carbion into the rubber compound, which makes the tyre stronger and more resistant to abrasion.
“The use of a material like Carbion is testament to the more than €600 million Michelin spends on research and development every year,” she added. “It allows us to unlock the latest innovations and ensure our tyres continue to deliver best value.”
Goodyear has returned to the Show under its own name rather than Truck Force, is also showcasing two new products with the Fuel and K Max tyres.
Keeping in line with its motto for the show – ‘We take you further’ – the K Max provides a 35% improvement on mileage compared to its predecessor, giving it a fuel and mileage benefit. The Fuel Max is all about saving fuel and provides a 10% benefit on rolling resistance.
Marc Preedy, Director of Commercial Tyres at Goodyear, said, “These products have come about because they are what our fleet customers want, rather than us creating an application and forcing it upon them.”
Bridgestone is at the NEC as well, launching its Total Tyre Care package for its fleet customers. It provides tyres and retreading services, maintenance and assistance across Europe as well as tyre condition reporting tools.
The service solution is available to fleet customers in packages built to give the operators and drivers peace of mind. The Comfort4Fleet package combines all of the services into one contract so fleets have full access to Bridgestone’s offering, while the Flex4Fleet offering focuses more on giving flexibility to operators.
