Pirelli and Hankook announce tires designed specifically for electric vehicles, with both tire manufacturers saying their new products will increase electric-vehicle range and reduce cabin noise.
Both Pirelli’s P Zero All Season Plus Elect and Hankook’s iON tires promise reduced rolling resistance, which reduces energy consumption and, in turn, EV range.
Pirelli says its P Zero All Season Plus Elect is made with a new compound formulation that offers the improved traction needed as the EV’s motors deliver maximum torque immediately, as well as enhanced wet grip and handling. The tire also is specially structured to support an EV’s weight. The company has produced tires designed for EVs since 2019, but the P Zero All Season Plus Elect is its first replacement EV tire.
The new tire (pictured, below left), available in 18 to 20 ins., uses a sound-absorbing material applied to the inside circumferential wall that decreases cabin noise 5% compared with “the leading original equipment competitor,” Pirelli says.
“Developing a tire specifically for electric vehicles requires a number of considerations you do not encounter when working with internal-combustion engines,” said Ian Coke, chief technical officer-Pirelli North America. “Electric vehicles are heavier, have more powerful and faster acceleration off the line and require lower rolling resistance.”
Hankook says its three iON tires possess similar characteristics and will be offered in designs between 18 and 22 ins.: the Hankook Ventus iON S summer tire launching in Europe in May,
and from September the Hankook Winter i*cept iON. The Hankook Ventus iON A tire will be available as an all-season version for the North American market.
Hankook says its sound-absorbing technology, combined with a specific tread pattern integrated into the iON tires’ design, reduces the interior noise significantly. Like the Pirelli tires, the Hankook tires are designed to withstand high torque and the higher vehicle weight of EVs caused by the drive batteries.
“We are particularly proud that the new Hankook iON summer tire, for example, has achieved an A/A/A rating on the (European Union) tire label,” says Bonhee Ku, executive vice president and chief technical officer of Hankook Tire. “This corresponds to the highest performance in terms of rolling resistance, wet grip and tire noise.”
