EV tires remain important segment for Goodyear

AKRON—The recent slow down in electric vehicle sales—EV's share of total new-vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2024 was 7.3 percent, a decrease from the fourth quarter of 2023—has not deterred Goodyear.

The Akron-based tire maker continues to invest in the emerging segment, according to Goodyear's Brad Heim, vice president, product development, Americas.

What is your EV strategy?

The added weight and torque associated with EVs can impact several factors when it comes to tire performance, most importantly, load capacity, treadwear and vehicle range. In addition, noise from the road is often more noticeable when considering the quiet ride usually found with EVs.

While the industry numbers have fluctuated, this remains an important segment of the market and will continue to grow.

Goodyear is developing many products for commercial, consumer and off-highway segments that are equipped for the demanding needs of electric vehicles and balance the performance requirements desired from a growing audience of adopters.

In 2022, in response to increased electric commercial vehicle adoption, Goodyear launched the Goodyear ElectricDrive all-season tire and two new sizes for its ultra-high-performance tire, the ElectricDrive GT. It also launched its Endurance RSA ULT for last-mile delivery segments and RangeMax RSDEV for regional fleets as well as another "Electric Drive Ready" solution—its new Powerload OTR lineup, specifically designed to deliver traction and durability for today's compact wheel loaders and graders, regardless of the job or underfoot conditions.

Goodyear's ElectricDrive tires are engineered with a load index to account for the heavier load capacity of EVs and feature SoundComfort Technology designed to help reduce the level of interior vehicle noise.

The EV tires also feature a specialized tread compound for all-season traction and long-lasting tread life, while an asymmetric tread pattern provides confident handling for wet or dry road conditions. With the addition of four new sizes to its EV tire lineup, Goodyear ElectricDrive is now a fit for 44 percent more battery electric automobiles operating in the U.S. today.

And just last month, ElectricDrive2 became available for purchase in the U.S. and Canada. This is an all-season EV tire enhanced with sustainable materials, improved rolling resistance and long-lasting tread life to maximize drivers' EV performance. It contains at least 50 percent sustainable materials per tire by weight and is available for purchase in 17 sizes. It is anticipated to cover 70 percent of the market (this includes line extensions that will be launched over the next few years).

The ElectricDrive2's asymmetric tread pattern is optimized to improve grip and responsiveness on wet and dry roads and its long-lasting tread compound is designed with resilience in mind to help EV drivers get more miles out of their tires.

The ElectricDrive2 is the latest step in Goodyear's sustainability maturity and contains at least 50 percent sustainable materials per tire by weight, including the use of soybean oil in the tire's construction, rice husk ash silica and sustainably sourced natural rubber.

What new products do you expect to roll out over the next 12 months?

The industry remains a mature market. However, there are pockets of growth within the industry and Goodyear is well-positioned to grow in those spaces.

In 2024, the North American consumer business expects to launch nine products and the North American commercial business anticipates launching five to seven new products. These products are across our portfolio and across our family of brands.

As part of the new product launches in both consumer and commercial, we have new Cooper products that we will be launching. Within consumer, we are also launching a new product in Kelly and Mastercraft.

How do you get buy-in from customers on sustainability?

Education and engagement are key components to any sustainability strategy, and this holds true for our outreach to our customers.

We not only share with them our own sustainability goals, but we engage them in conversations to understand their own sustainability goals, as well provide them with insights and information on our products, including our use of sustainable materials in certain products.