Conti says all European passenger tires ‘suitable for electric cars’

Hanover, Germany – Continental Tires has announced that all its new passenger car tire lines launched on the market in Europe are now compatible with electric vehicles (EVs).

The tires, it stated, now bear a new “EV-compatible” marking on their sidewall, indicating that they meet “the exacting requirements of electric cars.”

“We are convinced that there is no one tire for all EVs,” said Enno Straten, head of strategy, analytics and marketing for Continental Tires EMEA.

“This is why we have optimised our entire tire portfolio for this drive-type too,” he added.

The move to make all tires EV-compatible is part of the German group’s strategy for electric vehicles, explained Continental's 22 March announcement.

The approach, it said, offers tire dealers “major advantages” as the offerings will be less complex in the absence of a separate product portfolio.

This makes storage easier, simplifies the processes involved in selection, ordering, stocking and logistics, Continental added.

The strategy, it continued, has proven effective with “nine out of 10 most successful manufacturers of electric vehicles” opting for Continental tires for OE fitment in 2022.

These, it said, include Tesla, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, as well as Asian manufacturers such as KIA and BYD and American car makers such as Ford.

In the EMEA and Americas regions, Continental said "the five most successful manufacturers" are all OE customers.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the tire maker said it is the OE supplier to four of the five key manufacturers of electric vehicles.

The company added that its portfolio now includes summer, winter and all-season tires for “almost every EV model that does not already come factory-fitted with tires from Continental.”