New efficiency labels make buying the right tyres easier

17th August 2012

All new tyres manufactured for sale within Europe are now being labelled according to their performance against three key criteria – criteria – stopping distance when wet, fuel efficiency and noise levels.

Retailers will be required to pass this information on to consumers from 1st November this year, but the labels have started appearing in dealerships and other garages already, as suppliers start preparing for the change.

Fuel efficiency (rolling resistance) and safety (wet grip) are categorised using an A to G scale of coloured bands, similar to the efficiency labels we now see on white goods, while noise levels are rated in decibels.

A top-ranked A-grade tyre could out-perform the lowest-ranked G-grade tyre by 30% for safety and 7.5% for fuel efficiency.  This translates to a vehicle stopping three to four car lengths shorter from 50mph and a fuel cost saving of around £100 every year for the average motorist, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders.

“Before this label,” the SMMT’s chief executive Paul Everitt said, “customers only had price and brand to distinguish between more than 300 different types of tyres; now they have a set of comparable factors to make buying decisions easier.”

A spokesperson for the tyre manufacturer Continental said the new label was a “real breakthrough in providing standard performance data to motorists.  But sounding a note of caution he added:  “The EU label only shows three of more than 14 important criteria.  Tyre tests from magazines will continue to be the most comprehensive source of information for motorists, because they provide complete and independent reports covering nearly all criteria for the most popular tyre sizes.”