New tire label from May 1, 2021

New tire label from May 1, 2021

“In principle, the ÖAMTC welcomes any measure that supports consumers in their purchasing decisions,” explains ÖAMTC tire expert Friedrich Eppel. "However, the regulation does not change the fact that the tire label still only provides information about a few tire properties. As before, these are rolling resistance, wet grip and external rolling noise, plus for the time being only information about suitability for snow or ice roads. The former can be seen directly on the tire thanks to the snowflake symbol, the latter is hardly relevant for Central Europe." For comparison: The tire tests conducted by the ÖAMTC and its partners evaluate 13 properties for summer tires and 18 for winter tires. Eppel is also critical of the fact that it continues to be made too easy for manufacturers to achieve better label classes: "A corresponding tightening or the definition of classes that are better than 'A', e.g. 'AA' or 'A+', were planned in advance. However, both of these can no longer be found in the regulation, on the contrary: the label will only cover five classes in the future, car tires that were previously rated 'E' or 'F' will move up one level. This means that These weaker models even seem better to consumers than they currently do.” After all, the regulation specifies an option to revise the tire performance classes. 

What is positive for the ÖAMTC expert, however, is that the regulation places greater emphasis on the better visibility of the label for consumers: the labeling requirements have been updated in both traditional and online retail and every tire must be registered in a database. “A good approach is also to show the mileage on the label in the future - after all, this is an important aspect for the environment and economic efficiency,” says Eppel. "However, it is still unclear how this can be implemented, as a realistic test procedure suitable for the tire label is still being developed. Such a procedure must, for example, be cost-effective in order not to increase the price of tires for consumers."