Labelling of tyres: fuel efficiency and other essential parameters

PURPOSE: to increase the safety, health protection, and the economic and environmental efficiency of road transport by promoting fuel-efficient and safe tyres with low noise levels.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: road transport was responsible for about 22% of the Union’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Tyres, mainly because of their rolling resistance, account for 5% to 10% of vehicles’ fuel consumption.

In 2009, the EU adopted two sets rules relating to tyres:

• Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters (the Tyre Labelling Regulation, TLR). The TLR, which set out Union requirements harmonising the information on tyre parameters to be provided to end-users allowing them to make informed purchasing choices;
• Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles (the General Safety Regulation, GSR), which put in place harmonised technical requirements that tyres must satisfy before they can be placed on the Union market.

The Commission has reviewed the effectiveness of Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 and identified the need to update its provisions to improve its effectiveness by modifying and enhancing some of its provisions to clarify and update their content, taking into account the technological progress for tyres over recent years.

Improving the labelling of tyres will give consumers more information on fuel efficiency, safety and noise, allowing them to obtain accurate, relevant and comparable information on those aspects when purchasing tyres. This will help improve the effectiveness of the tyre labelling scheme so as to ensure cleaner, safer and quieter vehicles and to maximise the scheme’s contribution to the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

Tyre labelling forms part of Union legislation on the energy efficiency of products. This initiative is in line with the Union's energy policy.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the preferred option revealed the following estimated impacts: (i) increased turnover for business of EUR 9 billion per year by 2030; (ii) 129 PJ annual fuel savings by 2030; (iii) 10 Mt annual CO2-eq savings by 2030; (iv) decreased noise emission from tyres and resultant health benefits; and (v) greater safety and fewer accidents.

CONTENT: this proposal aims to repeal and replace Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 on labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters. It establishes a framework for the provision of harmonised information on tyre parameters through labelling, allowing end-users to make an informed choice when purchasing tyres.

The proposal aims in particular to:

• update the tyre label and allowing for its revision: the label covers three parameters: rolling resistance, wet grip and external rolling noise. The classes for these parameters need to be adjusted, to take account of technological progress. The Commission may adopt delegated acts to supplement the Regulation, and to adapt the annexes in the light of technical progress;
• improve the visibility of the label to consumers: all tyres placed on the market must be accompanied by a label, whether in the form of a separate document or of a sticker; the full label will have to be shown when tyres are sold on the internet and in paper-based distance selling;
• require that information on the snow and ice performance of tyres be included on the label;
• allow for the future inclusion of mileage and abrasion , if appropriate, as a parameter for the label. Tyre abrasion is a major source of microplastics released into the environment;
• require that the label be shown in visual advertisements and technical promotional material;
• extend to C3 tyres the requirement for the label to be shown;
• require tyre manufacturers to subject the label declaration to the type approval process thus providing an additional guarantee of the correctness of the label:
• improve enforcement by creating an obligation to register tyres in the product database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 (supplier identification, model of tyre, label, parameter classes and product information sheet).