Bridgestone boosting OE presence in Europe

BRUSSELS — Bridgestone Corp. secured nearly 100 new original equipment fitments in 2019 across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, the company disclosed recently.

Driven by the company's "ground-breaking" CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and electric) mobility projects, the new supply deals covered 50 different models from 14 manufacturers, Bridgestone said, without disclosing which models or manufacturers or its overall OE market share in the EMEA.

In addition, the company saw OE fitments for tires with rim diameters of 18 inches or greater grow by over 10% over 2018.

One of the key technological developments of 2019 was the introduction of Enliten, a lightweight tire technology that Bridgestone claims can reduce rolling resistance by 20% on average versus a standard premium summer touring tire.

The technology also cuts the tire weight by 10%, lowering the consumption of materials and subsequently reducing the tire's environmental footprint.

The first OE fitment with a tire using Enliten technology was on Volkswagen's all-electric ID.3 and the Audi RS Q3.

In 2020, Bridgestone said it would work to introduce Enliten to more models and manufacturers.

In addition, Bridgestone custom-engineered its Potenza tires for Volkswagen's electric supercar, the ID.R last year, helping VW break the Nürburgring-Nordschleife's EV track record by over 40 seconds.

Besides Enliten, other technologies such as B-Silent (reducing in-vehicle noise), B-Seal, run-flat and ologic technologies also helped meet new mobility demands, Bridgestone said.

In 2019, VW's Seat brand selected Bridgestone's ologic technology, for lowering rolling resistance, to equip its Minimó electric concept car.

Bridgestone Connect 'smart' tires, which relay information on tire load, pressures, grip level and tire health to the interior screens, was custom-developed for Nissan Motor Co.'s IMQ EV concept vehicle last year.

"Sustainability, CASE mobility and partnerships were three huge focuses for us in 2019," Mark Tejedor, vice president, original equipment, said.

In a brief video, Bridgestone singled out BMW A.G., VW's Audi and Seat brands and Toyota Motor Co. as companies with which it has the No. 1 OE supply position.