New Tyre Labelling Changes - EU Law from 1st May 2021
The new design is a result of the European Union introducing new tyre labelling legislation in Europe (EU reg 2020/740). This legislation will be applicable in the EU and Northern Ireland, but not in Great Britain. Great Britain will remain subject to GB REG 1222/2009.
New Tyre Labels - What is happening?
From the 1st of May you may start to see a new tyre label design.
While the new label is not yet law in Great Britain it is likely to be adopted and as such tyre manufacturers will start applying the new label format to tyres that have been manufactured on or after the 1st of May 2021.
So, for a short period of time there is likely to be two types of labels in the marketplace.
What changes will I see?
Tyre labels were designed to provide guidance on fuel efficiency, wet grip and road noise.
The new label continues with this guidance but there are changes in the way tyres are graded.
From the examples above you can see that the new label has fewer grades that can be achieved (A to E) for fuel efficiency and wet grip. The noise grading is also updated to show a letter grade instead of a 1,2 or 3 bar grade where A is the quietest.
In addition, there are new icons to show if a tyre has the three-peak mountain snow grade or ice symbol to show the tyre is designed for use on ice (generally only sold in countries with much colder climates).
What is Protyre doing about these changes?
Supply lead times for tyres can range from 6 weeks to 3 months. As such, a lot of the stock held by Protyre was manufactured prior to the 1st May 2021 and therefore carries the old tyre label format. For that reason and due to Great Britain not adopting the legislation yet we are showing the old tyre label format on our website and in store for a short interim period.
We expect that by the end of June we will have more stock carrying the new label and Great Britain will be closer to adopting the new legislation into law, so anticipate that we will begin to display the new tyre label format around this time.
How to read the new tyre label
Understanding the new tyre label follows the same methodology as the old tyre label. Key features of fuel consumption or efficiency as above, wet grip and noise classification are provided a grading for every tyre sold.
Noise level rating
This is a measurement in decibels(dB) of the noise created between the tyre and the road. It will be represented by a Grade of A, B or C with “A” being the lowest level of noise.
Fuel efficiency rating
Rolling resistance is used to measure how fuel efficient a tyre is. The less resistant a tyre is the less fuel it will use to move the vehicle. Classes range from A (the highest performing tyres) to E (the least performing tyres).
Wet grip rating
The basis for wet grip is the absolute stopping distance when driving 80 km per hour. Between each class, there are 3–6 metres difference in braking distance. Classes range from A (best braking distance) to E (longest braking distance)
Snow & Ice tyres
Tyre suitable for snow will include a 3 peak mountain icon whereas tyres suitable for use on ice will have an ice icon shown on the tyre lablel.
Why are some retailers showing the new tyre label format and you are not?
As mentioned above, EU law for new tyre labels has not been adopted by Great Britain, there are also a lot of tyres that were manufactured prior to May 2021 within Great Britain. With further changes possible for the GB market our view has been to ease into the new label format to make the transition as seamless as possible for our customers.
This approach may not be the same amongst other retailers and this is because until the new labels are adopted by Great Britain there is some ambiguity on what is expected by retailers in Great Britain during the interim period. In addition, Protyre currently do not operate in Northern Ireland whereas other retailers do.
Those retailers adopting the new tyre label values straight away may translate old tyre label values into the new tyre label so what is advertised is not what you will see on the tyre itself.
If you would like us to provide guidance on how old tyre label values translate to new tyre label values one of our experts in centre can assist. Call your local Protyre garage today to find out more or for any other question you may have.
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