Interview with Goodyear CEO Richard Kramer on CES Bulletins & When We Can Count on To Have Retreads Extensively Accessible For Automobiles

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On this article, I cowl Goodyear’s bulletins from the CES 2024 present and get some solutions on why we will’t but purchase retreads for our vehicles.

ElectricDrive 2

Goodyear’s ElectricDrive 2 tire is an all-season tire particularly designed for electrical automobiles (EVs). It options an uneven tread sample for dependable dealing with in each moist and dry circumstances, in addition to SoundComfort Expertise to make sure a quieter experience. The tire is made with a minimum of 50% sustainable supplies, together with soybean oil and rice husk ash silica.

In comparison with the earlier ElectricDrive tire, the ElectricDrive 2 presents improved rolling resistance, which boosts effectivity and vary. Additionally it is designed to supply a longer-lasting tread life to maximise drivers’ EV efficiency. The tire is on the market within the US beginning in Might and is available in 17 sizes to suit fashionable EV fashions such because the Tesla Mannequin 3, Tesla Mannequin Y, Tesla Mannequin S, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the Chevy Bolt.

Within the interview, I requested the pointed query of what do you surrender in going with this tire? Richard described that the tire trade lengthy considered a triangle of sturdiness, traction, and rolling resistance. It’s tough to enhance a type of with out impacting the opposite two attributes. For instance, if you need most traction for a racing tire, it’s worthwhile to surrender some sturdiness and/or rolling resistance. If you’d like excessive sturdiness, it’s worthwhile to have a tough tire and it must surrender some traction, particularly in winter circumstances. For the ElectricDrive 2, Goodyear balanced all 3 very well to provide wonderful sturdiness and rolling resistance and all-season braking and dealing with. He did admit that this isn’t a high-performance tire, so if you need the absolute best summer season traction, they produce other tires for that, and for the perfect winter traction, they’ve winter tires that stay delicate in chilly climate.

In abstract, the Goodyear ElectricDrive 2 tire is an eco-friendly, high-performance tire tailor-made for electrical automobiles, providing improved effectivity, vary, and sturdiness. For extra particulars, see the complete announcement right here.

Creating Superior Tire Intelligence Applied sciences With Goodyear Sightline

I used to be initially fairly skeptical about integrating ZF tire monitoring sensors with Goodyear Sightline and working with TNO to cut back hydroplaning on moist surfaces when driving on worn tires. First, I’ll summarize the bulletins. Then, I’ll describe the simulation that impressed me.

The important thing quote from the ZF announcement is beneath:

By analysis, digital simulation and real-world testing, Goodyear and ZF have recognized the potential of an built-in resolution in enhancing automobile efficiency and security. Decreasing the chance of hydroplaning, the Goodyear SightLine resolution is able to detecting partial hydroplaning early and presents suggestions for optimum velocity to boost automobile management. Furthermore, when heightened hydroplaning severity is detected, geared up with tire intelligence information, the cubiX software program is designed to instruct the chassis actuators to use corrective measures, stabilizing the automobile.

The important thing quote from the TNO announcement:

The ABS is a vital security element in fashionable automobiles designed to assist the driving force keep steering management whereas braking. By collaborative analysis and testing on a bodily check automobile, Goodyear and TNO successfully showcased that an improved ABS, geared up with details about the tire sort and traits reminiscent of put on state, can doubtlessly improve total system effectivity and cut back braking distance by as a lot as 5.75 toes.

The Final In Reuse & Value Saving — Retread Tires

I’ve been listening to about retreaded tires since I used to be an toddler, since my father purchased me some Bandag inventory (I not personal any). Three years in the past, I wrote about lowering tire prices, and once I acquired an e mail final week providing me the possibility to interview the CEO of Goodyear tire, I jumped on the probability. Though I believe that was the very last thing he anticipated to be speaking about that morning, he didn’t miss a beat and answered all my inquiries to my satisfaction. Earlier than I get my questions and his solutions, let me offer you a little bit of context.

After I requested Grok to provide me a abstract of the market, it did a very good job:

Retread tires, often known as remolded or recap tires, are an economical and environmentally pleasant various to buying new tires. The method includes taking a worn-out tire and changing the worn tread with new tread, permitting the tire for use once more.

Retread tires have a number of advantages, together with:

Value-effective: Retread tires can prevent as much as 50% of the price of a brand new tire, making them a extra economical selection for a lot of drivers.
Environmentally pleasant: Retreading tires reduces the quantity of waste that goes into landfills, in addition to the quantity of vitality and assets wanted to supply new tires.
Excessive-quality: Trendy retread tires are made utilizing superior manufacturing methods and high-quality supplies, leading to a product that’s simply as protected and dependable as a brand new tire.

Regardless of these advantages, there are some myths and misconceptions about retread tires. Some folks imagine that retread tires should not as protected or dependable as new tires, however that is merely not true. Retread tires are topic to the identical security and efficiency requirements as new tires and are simply as protected and dependable when correctly maintained.

In conclusion, retread tires are an economical and environmentally pleasant various to new tires. They provide the identical security and efficiency as new tires and are an awesome selection for drivers trying to save cash and cut back their environmental influence.

Subsequent, I requested Grok why they’re used on vans however not vehicles and I acquired some good causes:

Retreaded tires are generally used on vans and different business automobiles for a number of causes.

Value-effective: Retreading is an economical method to lengthen the lifetime of a tire, which is particularly vital for big business fleets that use a excessive variety of tires.
Environmentally pleasant: Retreading reduces the variety of tires that find yourself in landfills, serving to to preserve assets and cut back waste.
Efficiency: Trendy retread tires are made utilizing superior manufacturing methods and high-quality supplies, leading to a product that’s simply as protected and dependable as a brand new tire.

Nonetheless, retreaded tires should not generally used on passenger automobiles for a number of causes.

Security issues: Some folks imagine that retreaded tires should not as protected as new tires, though this isn’t supported by the proof.
Lack of information: Many individuals are merely not conscious of the advantages of retread tires and will not think about them as an choice.
Availability: Retread tires should not as broadly obtainable for passenger automobiles as they’re for business automobiles.

In conclusion, retreaded tires are generally used on vans and different business automobiles as a result of they’re cost-effective, environmentally pleasant, and carry out simply in addition to new tires. Nonetheless, they don’t seem to be as generally used on passenger automobiles attributable to security issues, ignorance, and availability.

With that as background, I requested him about retreads from a producer’s standpoint. I paraphrased his reply beneath:

• They’ve a really profitable retread program for semi vans and a considerably much less profitable one for vans.
• They’ve studied it in depth for the price range client market (assume 10-year-old Honda Civic) and the problems are:
  • Buyer notion of high quality. Regardless that high quality retreads are as protected as new tires and don’t fall off, folks have seen poor high quality retreads previously fall off a semi truck and lay on the facet of the highway. Nonetheless, this might be countered with guarantee, schooling, and promoting.
  • The semi vans all use the identical dimension tires, so it’s simple to make just some sizes to cowl all the market. Client vehicles and vans use tons of of tire sizes, so the amount of every of these sizes is just too low to handle the method economically.
  • Sellers have discovered patrons for used and worn tires immediately, so that they must compete for the previous tires and never simply get them without cost.
  • Due to that, they might solely be a bit cheaper than new tires, and with the notion of poor high quality (not correct), they wouldn’t promote nicely at a small low cost to new.
  • That being stated, a big fleet that had a regular dimension (like Hertz or Uber that has many Teslas, even after the latest information they’re slicing again) may save some huge cash by placing retreads on their automobiles.
  • If Tesla (like with the Mannequin Y or Mannequin 2 or robotaxi) or others, like BYD, promote hundreds of thousands of automobiles with the identical tire dimension, which may enable them to supply retreads in sizes which have hundreds of thousands of gross sales.
  • If there have been much less proliferation of sizes and forms of tires, the entire trade would develop a market for the worn tires to assist retreading and significantly enhance the sustainability and value of substitute tires.

Conclusion

It was nice to listen to in regards to the new ElectricDrive 2 tire. I discussed that immediately, it’s ample to have a common EV tire, however sooner or later, they may want an EV excessive efficiency, EV price range, EV lengthy life, and EV winter tire. He agreed. Because the market develops, they may proceed to launch merchandise to satisfy rising wants. The simulator actually confirmed me the worth of the sensors and software program that Goodyear introduced on the present. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see the place they’re adopted. I realized lots about retreads and I will likely be seeking to see if this develops first for the fleet market and later for the buyer market if Tesla and others are profitable at promoting extra automobiles with the identical dimension and sort of tires than the market does immediately.

Disclosure: I’m a shareholder in Tesla [TSLA], BYD [BYDDY], Nio [NIO], XPeng [XPEV], Hertz [HTZ], NextEra Vitality [NEP], and a number of other ARK ETFs. However I provide no funding recommendation of any type right here. 

All photographs by Paul Fosse, besides as famous in any other case