New tyre labels ‘will change fleet buying habits’

12th July 2012

New compulsory tyre labeling is predicted to have a dramatic effect on the buying habits of vehicle fleets – possibly in a short space of time.

Fleet software specialist CFC Solutions believes that the EU labeling – showing fuel economy, wet weather braking and tyre noise – will provide fleets with easily available, independent information on tyre performance for the first time when it takes effect in November.

“Tyre companies have been quick to point out that some key tyre performance factors, notably longevity, are not part of the labeling and, to some extent, they have a point,” said the company’s MD Neville Briggs.

However, he added, fleets are very likely to start rating and specifying tyres based on the information available to them, and the labeling system will inevitably play quite an important part in their buying decisions.”

The labels will rate tyre performance on an A-G scale, similar to that used in other EU labeling schemes such as domestic appliances, and this will provide fleets with an easy-to-use set of parameters.

“Fleets may start to specify tyres that only have an A or B rating for fuel economy and wet weather braking, in the same way that they may currently have a policy that says any car on their choice list must have four or five NCAP stars,” Neville Briggs added.

“Certainly, it would make sense to align the tyre ratings in some way with existing fleet risk management and environmental policies.  It may be that, quite quickly, fleets stop using tyres that do not score highly altogether.”