Pressing tyre sustainability issues and the need for better fleet education on tyre efficiency have been spotlighted in a meeting of the Michelin Fleet Panel.
Members have called for the industry to accelerate progress towards more sustainable tyres and to deliver improved support for fleet managers transitioning to electric vehicles.
The panel, comprising representatives from some of the UK’s biggest leasing, fleet management and rental companies, as well as several major end-user fleets, met at the Wakefield site of remarketing group Aston Barclay to discuss industry challenges.
Martin Thompson, Michelin’s brand manager UK & Ireland and chair of the panel, briefed members on the manufacturer’s target of using 100% sustainable materials in its tyres by 2050, and 40% by 2030, and urged the industry to make quicker progress in reducing the environmental impacts of tyres.
He also reinforced the importance of extracting the full performance out of every tyre, saying: “It’s vitally important we better educate fleet managers and customers about how to avoid unnecessary raw material wastage, specifically that it is safe to use tyres down to the 1.6mm legal tread depth limit.”
Some panel members called for the industry to put a greater focus on analysing tyre wear on EVs, saying the current lack of data was making it difficult to make informed buying decisions.
Thompson said: “Leasing and rental companies want to be able to communicate that data to their customers so they can speed up their transition to EVs. Michelin is manufacturing tyres specifically for EVs to help with tyre wear and battery range, and that’s a message we are communicating more widely.”
Lorna McAtear, head of fleet at National Grid, who manages 9,000 vehicles, including 1,500 EVs, said the industry needed to tackle some myths around EVs.
“There are some misconceptions that all tyres wear out quicker on EVs. The industry needs to deliver clearer messaging to ensure people have the best-performing and safest tyres on their EVs, and that they don’t cost more than tyres for internal combustion-engined vehicles.”
She added: “It was an excellent panel for learning about the innovations in tyre developments being driven by Michelin and its partners. I was reassured that they are working hard on sustainability and going in the right direction.”
Matt Childs, marketing manager at Michelin Connected Fleet, said the next generation of drivers and decision-makers are increasingly aware of sustainability and vote with their wallets on what, where and who they work with.
“With connected fleet management solutions, this is an opportunity rather than a challenge. Turning the data into actions can help fleets operate more efficiently and unlock savings,” he explained.
The meeting – the first for the Fleet Panel since the pandemic – also saw Michelin representatives and its partners, including Canopy Simulations and Michelin Connected Fleet, gave presentations of their work towards more sustainable mobility. Meanwhile, ProovStation provided a live demonstration of its AI-powered inspection scanner – Aston Barclay has become the first company in the UK to install the technology.
The Michelin Fleet Panel has been meeting for more than 20 years; membership is voluntary and participants are not required to be Michelin customers.
A new white paper from i247 Group out earlier this month also highlights sustainability issues with tyres.
Titled ‘The evolving tyre landscape – what fleets need to know’ and available online here, the white paper draws on the firm’s 30 years plus of tyre industry expertise to give insights for fleets on the tyre market, including on sustainability. It also includes invaluable advice on the rise of electric vehicles and how to choose the right tyres.
