ETRMA comments on the European Parliament plenary vote on tire labeling regulation

The ETRMA has followed the outcome of the European Parliament plenary vote on replacing the  European Tyre Labelling Regulation (EC/1222/2009). Having advanced on some essential points, ETRMA has completed its report within the current legislative term, and is now ready to enter the final phase of the review.

The ETRMA is waiting for the new European Parliament to move this file into trilogues in the second half of 2019. It is hoped the updated regulation will be in place by early 2020.

Secretary general Fazilet Cinaralp said, “This is a positive step from the European Parliament toward an ambitious, forward-looking tire labeling regulation.”

For the trilogue negotiations going forward, the ETRMA and the European tire industry call upon European institutions to remain focused on the central objectives of the Tyre Labelling Regulation, which are the following:

• Raise consumer awareness of the tire label and rolling resistance, wet grip and noise performance;
• Include snow or ice logo on the label, where applicable;
• Reinforce the visibility of the tire label during both physical and online purchases;
• Incentivize a market uptake of high performance tires in the general interest of road and passenger safety and the environment;
• Improve enforcement and market surveillance; and
• Establish a publicly available product database and include a QR code on the label.

Cinaralp added, “To explore the full potential of existing tire technology, there must be strong incentives to fuel market uptake. The tire label is an important instrument to inform consumers on the performance of the tire, but currently lacks visibility and consumer awareness.”

Numerous institutions and companies in the tire industry are currently assessing the feasibility of a standardized test method for assessing tire tread abrasion. This would require a full revision of the regulation and cannot be carried out via a delegated act, as proposed by the commission. The process is still in its infancy and needs to be developed further before any measure can be introduced.

Cinaralp concluded, “The European tire industry is fully engaged in off-setting the environmental impacts of tires including a need for the development of a reliable test method to measure tire abrasion. Our ambitions are high and we remain devoted to providing technical solutions for changes in environmental and societal needs.”