Tyre News

Between November 2023 and February 2024, there were total of 90,852 breakdowns on British roads – an 11.3 per cent increase from the same period a year before (81,617 total). Of these, tyres have been reported as the most common cause of winter breakdowns (November to February) in the UK for three years running.

Hankook Tire is launching Optimo, a new car tyre brand in Europe in mid-2025. The brand offers a new second-line brand alongside the Korean manufacturer’s existing Laufenn brand. The Optimo product line-up will offer good market coverage with six essential products covering a broad range of summer, all-season and winter sizes. Hankook says the sub-premium market segment is “seeing increasing demand”.

The penalties for driving without sufficient tyre tread are steep, yet research conducted on behalf of the RAC and TyreSafe suggests that a majority of motorists have no idea how much tread is enough. Nor are they aware of the fines that await should their vehicle’s tyres be found wanting.

Apollo Tyres has launched the Vredestein Quatrac Classic, a premium all-season classic car tyre that combines timeless looks with modern structure and materials for superior standards of year-round grip and traction.

The USA is headed back to the Moon in a couple of years and several other countries have landed vehicles on the lunar surface. Pirelli hasn’t been there and – as far as we know – isn’t planning a mission, but the Italian brand comments that the Pirelli tyres used over the course of the 24 Grands Prix in this longest ever Formula 1 season covered a distance that almost would reach the Moon “on an imaginary road linking our planet to its only natural satellite.”

When seeking out the company which first marketed a tyre intended for winter conditions, it makes sense to start your search in a region that’s no stranger to snow and ice. Finland fits the bill nicely, and Nokian Tyres has long occupied the superlative first place in the winter tyre world with its Kelirengas – literally ‘weather tyre’. But was it really first?