Tyre makers developing EV-specific rubber to boost ranges, minimise wear
A year since it began marketing EV-specific tyres for electric vans and taxis, British company Enso has launched its first tyres for passenger EVs – specifically, the Tesla Model 3 and Y and Jaguar I-Pace.
There are currently more than 1.5 million electric cars on UK roads, and this year car makers expect to sell a further 450,000. Meanwhile, in 2022, 40 million car tyres were sold in the UK in a market worth around £2.3 billion. By 2030, the market is expected to be worth around £3.9bn.
Compared with giants such as Michelin and Continental, Enso is a relative minnow, but it punches above its weight thanks to initiatives such as direct sales and an emphasis on technical innovation - including reducing particulate pollution through improved tyre wear rates.
'The sheer weight of EVs impacts the tyres,' said Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, founder and CEO of Enso. 'The fact that you then have high torque and the cars being driven in urban areas also has an impact. The tyres wear down, but we reduce the rate at which they do by using better raw materials, construction and 'recipes', and by collecting data continuously from the field to understand how EVs are reacting to the road.'
Balancing tyre wear with optimal rolling efficiency, the desired wet and dry handling performance and acceptable noise levels are among the challenges confronting Enso and other manufacturers of EV tyres.
'Today, tyres are coping with far heavier vehicle loads than in the past,' said Jaap Leendertse, general manager of tyre development at Falken Tyres. 'Previously, you had 50% of a tyre's load capacity utilised; now we are at 70-80%, and that means we are more focused on the tyre lasting longer.'
Michelin has stated that EVs wear tyres 20% faster than ICE vehicles. According to Kwik Fit, Tesla models are the heaviest on tyres, while Citroën, Mercedes and BMW models are among those needing fresh tyres at an above-average rate.
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