• Concerns on effectiveness of tyre label scheme

    MEPs, the Commission and officials of member states have agreed a labelling scheme for new tyres that T&E says is a step forward but much will now depend on national authorities being strict on implementing the scheme.

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    With energy labels having boosted European sales of energy-efficient fridges, freezers and washing machines, NGOs were pushing for stickers giving information on a tyre’s fuel consumption, road grip in wet weather and noise to be made obligatory on all tyres. But under the compromise agreed earlier this month, supplying a label will be obligatory but manufacturers will have the option either to stick them to the tyres or provide a paper version instead.

    The second option states that labels can be ‘shown to the end user in the immediate proximity of the tyre’, which may undermine the measure according to campaigners. That is stricter than it might have been – one draft said the information only had to ‘accompany’ the tyre, but after T&E made the point that this would be unenforceable, the final legislation was amended so the label has to be ‘printed’ and ‘in the immediate proximity’ of the tyre.

    Much will now depend on what happens in tyre shops and garages and how much national governments insist on the labels being accessible. Experience with the obligation on car dealers to display fuel efficiency information suggests the information is often placed in hard-to-find areas, or in places where some customers never go.

    ‘There is so much for everyone to gain from good tyre information,’ said T&E policy officer Nina Renshaw, ‘but people must have access to the information. They can save money, improve their safety, reduce noise and help the environment, but only if they know how. That’s why the idea of attaching the label to the tyre itself is so important.’

    A sign of how tyre labelling could encourage cleaner technology has been given by the French tyre maker Michelin saying it will put the labels on its tyres, even if it does not have to. Michelin says it has developed a range of low-energy tyres, and if customers do not see the label, such tyres will be harder to sell.

    ‘A labelling scheme only works when the worst as well as the best products can be compared’ added Renshaw, ‘much will now depend on how wholesalers and retailers respond to the legislation’.

    The Commission has also agreed to launch a website including a ‘fuel savings
    calculator’ by 2012. But it is also unclear how widely this will be publicised.