Yokohama crafts 'E+' mark for EV-designated tires

HIRATSUKA, Japan—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) has begun marking tires built for electric vehicles with a proprietary "E+" mark on the sidewall to distinguish them from other tires in the same line.

The new mark, being used on passenger and trucks/bus tires that have design and performance qualities needed by EVs, is the latest facet of Yokohama Rubber's response to the rising demand such tires. The first tire to bear the E+ mark is the new Advan Sport EV, an ultra-high performance summer tire being launched this fall in Europe and other markets.

Yokohama's understanding of EVs comprises battery-electric vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel-cell electric vehicles.

Tires installed on such vehicles must be able to meet the distinct needs of EVs, such as the strength to withstand the higher loads associated with heavy electric batteries as well as the electric motor's high torque output.

Such tires also must generate less noise and contribute to the vehicle's efficient use of electricity and other energy sources and expand the vehicle's driving range.

YRC said it has secured a number of original equipment fitments on electrified vehicles, including: BMW iX3, Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+, and Lexus RZ, crossover SUVs from Toyota Motor (the bZ4X) and Subaru (the SOLTERRA), and mini-vehicles such as the Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi Motors' eK X EV.

The new Advan Sport EV—based on the Advan Sport V107 UHP tire—features technologies cultivated in YRC's development of OE tires already being supplied for premium EVs. It will launch in 16 sizes. Pricing information was not disclosed.

The EV version of the Advan Sport V107 share's that product's tread pattern, YRC said, and incorporates a strip of polyurethane foam, dubbed "SilentFoam," attached to the tire's innerline. This strip of foam reduces tire cavity resonance (the sound created inside the tire as it vibrates while running over uneven road surfaces), thereby diminishing unpleasant noise in the passenger cabin, YRC said.

Yokohama joins Continental A.G. as tire makers that have begun adding an EV designation on their tires.

Conti only recently began marking passenger tire lines it sells in Europe with an "EV-Compatible" symbol, signifying that Continental feels every single tire in its current product range already meets the exacting requirements of electric cars.