From April 2009, an extensive range of Turanza ER300 Ecopia tyres will be gradually introduced to the European market. Bridgestone has chosen the name ECOPIA to denote those tyres in its range that are highly fuel efficient.
In Japan, ECOPIA tyres were first used on electric-powered cars in 1991. In Europe, Volkswagen already mounted Bridgestone’s B381 Ecopia low rolling resistance tyres on the “3-litre” version of the Lupo passenger car back in 1998. At that time, the Lupo was considered as “the most environmentally friendly car in the world”, consuming only 3 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres.
Today certain versions of the Opel Insignia and Mercedes S-Class are being introduced into the market on low rolling resistance Ecopia versions of existing patterns and the Toyota IQ is fitted with an all new Ecopia tyre.
The main technology reducing rolling resistance, fuel consumption and thus CO2 output, is the specially developed Ecopia compound. The new compound is based on nano properties control technology, which acts on the molecules in such a way that it permits the achievement of improved rolling resistance and improved wet grip. This is in line with the basic philosophy of Bridgestone product development.
Bridgestone considers safety as the first priority when developing its products, and the new range is designed to have excellent grip performance while further contributing to excellent fuel economy and low carbon emissions.
Gerry Duffy, Vice President, Sales & Marketing said. “We recognise the role that tyres can play in reducing fuel consumption. The introduction of the Ecopia range represents a significant progress in terms of meeting today’s customer requirement for safe tyres that also provide fuel economy”
The Turanza ER300 Ecopia range will be introduced to the market at the Geneva Auto Salon in March.
Source: Bridgestone Europe
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