Budget brands dominate despite detailed tyre labels, study shows
A new study commissioned by the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) has found that budget tyre brands continue to represent the most popular and fastest-growing segment of the market, but are far behind in achieving high-performance tyre labels.
The analysis was conducted by Lizeo covering more than 1,000,000 tyre labels observed across the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) between 2012 and 2023.
The ETRMA said that not enough consumers are aware of nor use the tyre label to guide their choice, and has urged the industry to guide consumers towards better performing and more fuel efficient tyres.
It suggests that many buyers mainly rely on price or dealer advice in their purchasing decisions.
Introduced in 2012, and updated in 2021, the label was designed to help consumers and fleet managers compare safety and fuel efficiency of tyres when making their purchasing decisions.
High- performance tyres can reduce CO2 emissions by up to four million tons a year and improve road safety, reducing stopping distances by up to four cars lengths.
“The EU tyre label is meant to steer choices towards best performing tyres. Yet despite the tyre label, the fastest-growing part of the market is also the lowest-performing: budget tyres. Meaning, the average score is still ‘D’ for rolling resistance (fuel efficiency) and ‘C’ for wet grip,” said Adam McCarthy, ETRMA secretary general.
“Not enough consumers are aware of nor use the label to guide their choice. The next step is complementary strategies that act on price, cost of use, and incentives, while keeping the label itself simple and credible”, he concluded.
The ETRMA said in its report that consumer support measures are necessary in order to incentivise the market uptake of best performing tyres.
It said budget brands “lag significantly” in achieving high-performance labels, which “limits a clearer market transformation towards improved tyre performances, even though both fuel consumption (Rolling Resistance) and Wet Grip have shown positive trends, particularly among premium and mid-tier brands”.
Despite this progress, the ETRMA says the study indicates that the current tyre labelling scheme for C1, C2 and C3 tyres “remains relevant as a framework to assess performance”, but its impact on market transformation “appears limited”, as budget tyres with lower-performing labels continue to dominate the market.