Energy Efficiency in Tyres

About 20% of the CO2 emissions in the EU are generated by road transport. Passenger cars are responsible for around 12% of CO2 emissions. From 2012 new cars will have to have emissions of 120mg/km or lower. In the same year a labelling system for fuel efficiency, wet grip and external rolling noise performance will be introduced.

For many drivers, tyres have remained objects of mystery and purchasing decisions can be arbitrary or given over to the dealer. Most of us would not ask for their energy efficiency performance or know how to find the information. On 25 November this year, the European Parliament formally adopted a labelling system, which will make this information easily accessible to consumers.

The information design for this labelling system was done by Applied Information Group (AIG) in London and Mostra managed the project.

The labels build on the iconic and well known energy scale used on EU labels for domestic appliances. AIG has developed three pictograms for the information system, components of which are based on international standards for symbols, and subsequently tested options with would be users. The designers gave consideration to the pictograms'representation at small sizes and at low resolution, for future multi-channel applications.

The design enables drivers to compare tyres in terms of economy, safety and traffic noise. The information design developed by AIG communicates these concepts and values across all the languages and cultural barriers of Europe. It allows the consumer make well informed choices and purchasing decisions.

However, to achieve a reduction of 40% of CO2 emissions by 2020 a country like Germany will have to reduce its emissions from transport by 15 million tonnes per annum. Technical innovations and higher energy efficiency will help to achieve these goals. If, however, 5% of all car journeys were done by public transport and 30% of all car journeys shorter than 5km were done by bicycle, 3 to 4 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved each year.

Pictogram by Applied Information Group, London

M.HAUS 2009