The National Tyre Distributor’s Association (NTDA)  and LANXESS, the world’s leading producer of high performance synthetic rubbers, have partnered to launch a new app for smartphone, tablet and PC, which will help dealers improve customer understanding of the impact greener tyres can have on fuel economy and carbon emissions.
 
In response to the new EU law on tyre labelling, tyre manufacturers are developing a new breed of premium ‘green tyres’ that can achieve the highest grades across the three categories featured on the labels, and help motorists reduce their annual fuel bills. LANXESS supplies the tyre makers globally with the high tech synthetic rubbers that make this possible. ‘Green tyres’ are already beginning to appear on the market and may command an additional £15 - £40 per tyre, but motorists are only expected to consider buying them if they understand how much of a positive difference they will make.
 
Unfortunately the results from a recent LANXESS survey of 3,000 UK motorists shows that almost all (99%) vastly underestimate the impact tyres have on their fuel bills and that over half still prioritise upfront cost when buying their tyres. They also suggest that less than 20% take fuel consumption and long term costs into consideration when making their purchase. (Further survey results are offered below).
 
To combat this lack of understanding and to help dealers encourage motorists to take advantage of the incoming changes, LANXESS and the NTDA have developed a free app for smartphones, tablets and web-enabled PCs. It enables dealers to quickly and very accurately demonstrate to each customer exactly how much fuel, money, and carbon different tyre categories can save them based on the car they drive, their annual mileage, and their driving style. It demonstrates that changing tyres could save around £200 per year in petrol cost and 350kg of carbon emissions if their annual mileage is 10,000 miles, their car averages 35 mpg and the price of fuel is approximately £1.30 per litre. 
 
Based on scientific research from the Technical University of Munich, the app asks the motorist about the car they drive (to establish fuel consumption), their annual mileage, the current price of petrol, their driving style and the category of their existing tyres according to the labelling system. It then calculates the exact savings per year and delivers that information clearly, and simply in pounds (financial savings), litres (fuel savings) and Kg (carbon savings) on a single screen.
 
The app also uses this information to calculate the time and miles required to recoup the possible additional cost of the green tyres, providing yet more information on which to base purchasing decisions.
 
“Unless motorists understand the products they are buying dealers will always find it hard to ensure customers make the most appropriate choices for their vehicle and themselves,” explains Richard Edy, director of the NTDA. “The challenge for any dealer in this industry is that it has always been very hard to answer the question ‘precisely how much money and how much carbon can I save each year if I change my tyres?’. This app provides an accurate answer to that question and makes it quick and easy for our members to demonstrate the benefits of making more considered tyre choices.” 
 
“The impact of the new labelling system will depend heavily on the number of motorists that understand the link between tyres, fuel economy and environmental impact,” explains MD of LANXESS (UK) Ltd Kim O’Connor. “The results of our survey demonstrate that motorists are not yet at that stage, and need the dealer network to offer an easy and accessible way to demonstrate the difference various tyres can have on their wallets and carbon footprint. This is exactly why we have worked with the NTDA to develop the fuel saving calculator app.”
 
Headline survey results
 
The survey results show some startling figures from the 3,000 UK motorists involved:
- Over 85% are completely unaware of about more fuel efficient tyres
- Over 60% predict annual savings from switching to greener tyres will be less than £100 (when in fact they are closer to £200)
- 77% of motorists underestimate the degree to which fuel consumption is affected by tyre choice
- After completing the survey and learning more about greener tyres and labelling
- 65% of respondents said they would use tyre labels to inform future purchasing decisions
- Only 7% said they would still not consider switching to greener tyres