The label for an informed choice when purchasing
The EC regulation requires that all replacement (aftermarket) tyres manufactured from 1st July onwards and on sale in Europe as from 1st November of this year must display the new label. The main aim of the regulation is to increase the safety of road transport by promoting the introduction of safer and more efficient tyres with lower noise emissions. For this reason, the parameters considered and therefore appearing on the label are: fuel efficiency (on the basis of rolling resistance), wet braking distances and external rolling noise (please see enclosure for further details). As a Premium Company, Pirelli fully supports the introduction of the regulation, it being a useful means of providing end users with objective data to assess the quality of a product, but would point out that when measuring the overall value of a tyre a much wider range of parameters needs to be considered than those covered by the new EU label (road handling under wet and dry conditions, braking distances in the wet, mileage, aquaplaning, etc.). If we take a closer look at responsibilities, the legislation requires that tyre manufacturers provide their customers with information about the grading of individual products by means of a label on tyres being sent for delivery and technical/promotional literature (e.g. catalogues, price lists, etc.). On the other hand, the tyre dealers/sales outlets must guarantee that tyres offered for sale and visible to the consumer bear the sticker provided by the manufacturer in a clearly visible position or alternatively a copy of the label in question shall be displayed in the immediate proximity. Where products offered for sale are not visible, the tyre dealer shall provide the consumer with all information regarding product performance when offering a choice. Finally, upon completion of the sale, the sales outlet shall specify on the customer’s invoice or as an enclosure, the values of the 3 parameters requested by the regulation for each tyre purchased. Although the label allows consumers to make a more informed choice, Pirelli stresses the importance of the tyre dealer’s role within the purchasing process in its capacity of tyre expert able to recommend the best product to suit the end user’s every specific need. 