Bridgestone is one of the best in the business when it comes to tyres in the world. It has announced that it has transferred focus to developing tyres that are more ideal for electric vehicles which have instant torque. It says that 90 per cent of its tyre sales by 2030 will be for electric cars. This report comes from the Japanese daily Nikkei Asia. It has been revealed that the tyre maker will stop competing with low-cost brands from China and South Korea as a part of the shift.
Also Read: Bridgestone to supply tyres to Fisker Ocean
More so, Bridgestone has plans of stopping manufacturing tyres for gasoline vehicles in Europe by the end of this year. Europe will be the first market where the assembly lines will be converted for EVs. Similar conversations will take place in Japan, the US, South America down the line. It has 50 tyre factories right now and all of them in time will be converted to facilities tailored for EVs.
"Tires for EVs are 20% lighter because they use less rubber and other materials, and face 30% less resistance," said the report explaining the difference between the tyres designed for gasoline cars and EVs. EVs because of the batteries are heavier vehicles and hence their tyres have to be lighter.
Bridgestone Tyres Air Free Concept
Bridgestone already supplies to Volkswagen for its ID line of EVs and in 2023 it has plans of increasing the supply and launch for retail customers as well. It will also be supplying tyres for the Fisker Ocean which will enter production later in the year. It also is planning on making tyres for electric pick up trucks.
Many new EVs are launching this year - for instance, Rivian is just starting deliveries of the R1T pickup truck, the Hummer EV is coming by the end of the year while the Ford F-150 Lightning is also going to be launching in the next year. So there are many new players and many traditional players that are betting on the farm of electric cars.
For Bridgestone, it also doesn't want to fall behind rival Michelin which is already supplying tyres to many EV makers. Bridgestone is also reducing its focus on low-cost tyres for which it competes with Chinese manufacturers.
