Continental’s tire development engineers have accomplished yet another innovative feat: The rolling resistance properties of a EcoContact 6 summer tire designed for Ford have been further improved and now surpass those required for the EU Tire Label’s “Class A” highest ranking by more than 15 percent.
Reduced rolling resistance has a significantly positive environmental impact thanks to lower energy consumption.
The substantial reduction in rolling resistance achieved for EcoContact 6 tires was made possible by a variety of design measures such as a reduction in the materials used. Also, innovative technologies have been implemented, for example an optimized rubber compound designed to lower abrasion and particularly heat build-up as a major cause of rolling resistance.
“In connection with an original equipment order placed by Ford, we have succeeded in improving rolling resistance properties to an extraordinary degree,” remarked Dr. Holger Lange, Head of Passenger Tire Development for Continental’s original equipment business, adding: “This is all the more remarkable because we managed to achieve this without compromising on tire safety or comfort.”
“Thanks to their special properties, the tires we developed are helping Ford to sustainably reduce vehicle energy consumption across all drive types and models,” remarked Lange, adding: “In so doing, our EcoContact 6 tires for Ford are setting a new rolling-resistance benchmark for the entire industry. In this way, we are making an important contribution to helping our OE customers achieve their WLTP fleet targets.” WLTP stands for Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure – the standard test procedure for passenger car tires worldwide.
“Continental has been working on tires to increase the efficiency of electric vehicles for over 10 years, now,” said Lange, adding: “As early as 2012, we presented the Conti.eContact – a tire specifically designed to meet the needs of solely electrically powered vehicles. In the meantime, almost our entire portfolio meets e-vehicle requirements, while at the same time also being capable of sustainably reducing emissions for combustion-engine vehicles.”
In the market for tires meeting the requirements of fully electric vehicles, Continental’s market share continues to grow. In 2020, 6 out of 10 of the world’s highest-volume makers of electric vehicles placed their trust in Continental’s advanced engineering and chose Continental tires as original equipment, e.g. Tesla for its Model 3 and Model S as well as Volkswagen for the ID.3.
