Budget tyres face shock EU axe

By Andrew English

16th January 2008

New green rules could force motorists to pay hundreds of pounds more for their replacement tyres.

If the EU’s latest eco proposals are agreed, owners will no longer be able to shop around for budget brands. Instead, they will have to switch worn-out rubber with the manufacturer’s preferred original make of tyre.

The legislation would apply to vehicles equipped with low-energy rubber, which reduces CO2 output. Own­ers would have to maintain the type-approval requirements for their cars to pass the MoT test. This could raise the bill for replacing all four corners on some models by more than £100 per tyre. It would also stop motorists using cheaper, quieter alternatives.

The requirements are included in draft legislation designed to reduce average CO2 emissions from all new cars to 120g/km by 2012. Manufac­t­urers will have to reach an average of 130g/km, with a proposed package of ‘complementary measures’ – such as using biofuels, low-energy air-con and low rolling-resistance tyres – cutting emissions by another 10g/km.

Some brands are already type-approving their UK vehicles with eco tyres so the models sit in lower VED and company car tax bands. Peugeot’s 308 uses Michelin EnergySaver rubber to save up to a claimed 4g/km of CO2. But they carry a premium price and, although other brands of tyre are available, the EU isn’t keen to let buy­ers shop around. A European Commis­sion spokesman said: “We need to stop people replacing these products with ordinary tyres.” He added it would be unfeasible to rate the CO2 benefit from individual eco tyres on each car, and policing a system where motorists could buy eco tyre alternatives would be virtually impossible, unless they were forced to replace like with like.

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