Tyres must display a green rating under new EU law

by ClickGreen staff. Published Tue 24 Nov 2009 12:28

Tyres will need to be classified and labelled with their green performance

Vehicle tyres must display an eco-label similar to that required for household appliances following a law agreed in the European Parliament this week.

From November 2012 all new tyres on sale in Europe will be classified and labelled for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise performance, under the draft regulation backed by Industry Committee MEPs

"The new labelling system is a straightforward measure with great advantages for the environment and consumers", said rapporteur Ivo Belet (EPP, BE), adding that the cost to manufacturers should be minimal.

Like the European energy label, the tyre label will use classes ranging from best-performance (green “A” class) to worst (red “G” class). Besides indicating how much the tyre affects the car's fuel efficiency, it will also give information about its performance in wet conditions and its external rolling noise in decibels.

From 1 November 2012, suppliers of tyres for passenger cars, light and heavy duty vehicles (C1, C2 and C3 tyres) will have to inform consumers about fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise classes in any technical promotional material, including web sites.

Re-treaded tyres, off-road professional tyres and racing tyres will be exempt from this requirement.

All C1 and C2 tyres produced after 1 July 2012 must either have a sticker or be accompanied by the label when distributed from the factory to a shop or a garage.

Unlike household appliances, tyres are not always on display in the shops, so MEPs insisted that retailers be obliged to show the label to the buyer before the sale and also on, or with, bills.

To promote very quiet tyres, the Parliament negotiated a re-design of the noise pictogram. The level of external rolling noise will be indicated by ascending numbers of black "waves" emitted from the "speaker". Quiet tyres for cars (producing noise below 68 decibels), for example, will be labelled with one black and two white "waves" next to the value in decibels.

Potential incentives to promote better-performing tyres to consumers would be decided at national level. In principle, Member States would be allowed to provide incentives only for tyres ranked at least "class C" on fuel efficiency and wet grip.