Jan 2012: Continental Prepares for the Future with Conti.eContact Tyres

The hallmark of a great company is evidenced not by its current strategies, but rather by how well it has been able to predict future trends and prepare for them. And Continental is bang on target in this area.

Continental UK revealed details about its Conti.eContact tyres designed specifically to cater to requirements of the electric vehicles set to dominate the automotive market in the future.

Continental tyres engineers have worked on Conti.eContact tyres to offer pioneering dimensions of tyre size, different from conventional sizes in order to best meet the requirements of electric vehicles.

Need for focus on Tyres for Electric Vehicles

World over, there is great concern on global warming issues. Carbon dioxide emission from automotive vehicles is one of the major factors responsible for environmental damage.

There is a growing and welcome trend from the responsible auto industry to shift towards more fuel efficient vehicles that reduce the carbon footprint. Vehicle manufacturers are also exploring options of hybrid fuel systems including the use of electric motors to power their vehicles.

Also government incentives in this area are prompting more vehicle manufacturers to move away from traditional petrol and diesel engines.

It is estimated that by 2020, there will 2.8 million registered electric vehicles operating on roads worldwide. And they need tyres developed specifically for them. The Conti.eContact tyres development is step in this direction.

Features

The Conti.eContact tyre has a bulky outer dimension of 195/55 R20 rather than the existing 205/55 R16. This altered dimension has reduced the rolling resistance contributing to improved fuel economy.

The sidewall of the tyre has greater flexibility to reduce energy lost during deflection and rebounding.

Improved Wet Braking

Along with the focus on special features for enhancing environmental friendliness, adequate safety features are incorporated into the tread design to ensure excellent wet braking.

The Conti.eContact tyres are extremely energy efficient and ideal partners for the electric vehicles range. The tyres are also designed for increased durability and wear resistance.

Identification of Conti.eContact Tyres

The sidewall will feature unique lettering that serves as identification for these tyres. The company will use the logo BLUECO, which is an umbrella brand for the various pioneering tyre machinery that Continental is developing specifically for electric vehicles.

The Way Forward

At the moment the plans are to release the Conti.eContact tyres exclusively in the UK market as a niche product. At launch, the tyre is going to be offered in two sizes – the 125/80 R13 and the 145/40 R13.

The tyres will be available sometime this year. Exact release dates have not been disclosed yet.

About Continental

Continental Tyre Group UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Tyres and responsible for the supply of tyres in the UK and Ireland. The company has a comprehensive product range encompassing tyres for passenger vehicles such as cars, 4X4s and vans, commercial vehicles like trucks and buses and vehicles for industrial use such as forklift trucks. Continental is one of the leading players in the OEM as well as the replacement car tyres markets. To know more about the company and its products, visit www.continental-tyres.co.uk

This article is written by Azzam Sheikh who has industry experience writing news, content and press releases. If you would like to make contact with Azzam then you can do so by Email, also see Azzam's Google+ profile.