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Green Tyres save fuel – tests show

“Green Tyres” reduce the fuel consumption of trucks by 8.5 per cent and can save carrier and logistics companies million pounds a year. These quality tyres, with optimised rolling resistance, also significantly reduce CO2 emissions in commercial vehicles compared to standard tyres. These are the results of a road test on truck tyres. It was carried out by LANXESS, the world’s leading manufacturer of synthetic high-performance rubbers for the tyre industry, and chemical logistics provider TALKE.

“As a fitting tribute to the first year of compulsory tyre labeling within the EU, we have proved in this test that quality tyres with optimised rolling resistance provide large potential savings for commercial vehicles,” said Christoph Kalla, expert for tyres and rubber at LANXESS. “Not only are ‘Green Tyres’ exceptionally effective at lowering operating costs, they also make a key contribution to protecting the environment.”

The full extent of the economic benefits of switching to “Green Tyres” for a logistics company can be seen in a numerical example derived from the test: a fleet with a total of 300 40-metric-tonne trucks that have previously been running on tyres rated D on the EU label can save £1.3 million a year in fuel costs, just by switching to B-rated tyres – assuming a distance of 93,000 miles per vehicle and a fuel price of £1.40/litre. The CO2 reductions would amount to more than 3,000 metric tonnes per year.

“For us, professional fleet management has long included using tyres optimised in terms of their rolling resistance to make fleet operation more efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly,” said Alfred Talke, Group Managing Director of the TALKE Group. “The tyre test carried out in collaboration with LANXESS has once again impressively demonstrated to us just how much we have already managed to save in the past few years. We hope that our industry will become much more aware of this example.”

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) Head of Technical Services, Ray Engley, said: “The Road Haulage Association acknowledges the results of the LANXESS’ report and the potential cost savings of ‘Green Tyres’. The RHA continually promotes products and services that promote safety and cost effective returns, particularly when these can demonstrate a cost saving and benefit our members’ operation; in particular, their carbon footprint.”

One of the world’s leading independent technical service organizations, TÜV Rheinland, examined the entire test and documented and verified all the results. “Based on the EU tyre label, we accompanied a realistic truck driving trial. We were pleased to see that the results proved that using tyres with low rolling resistance leads to substantial fuel savings,” said Juergen Brauckmann, member of the Board of Management of TÜV Rheinland Berlin Brandenburg Pfalz e. V. “When it comes down to it, using these tyres is an enormous contribution to sustainability in the logistics industry.”