NOKIA, Finland
One might say Nokian Tyres P.L.C. surpassed its goal of bolstering its product portfolio.
The Nokia-based tire maker, struggling with capacity issues in the wake of the 2023 sale of its plant in Russia, has returned to the ultra-high performance (UHP), all-season category with the launch of the Nokian Tyres Surpass AS01, designed for the North American market.
The tire, available in 65 sizes to fit rim diameters covering 16 to 21 inches, can be ordered as of Jan. 22. It is suitable for electric vehicles, the company said, and it is being manufactured in Finland, at least for the short-term.
Nokian is coming off a challenging year: its worldwide capacity was severely crippled when the company elected to sell the Russian factory and its capacity of 20 million tires per year to Russian energy and petrochemicals producer P.J.S.C. Tatneft for $307 million.
Nokian is in the process of replacing the loss of half of that capacity — the other half of all tires made in Russia were sold there — as well as replacing the molds it surrendered in the sale. The tire maker recently inaugurated production at a passenger tire plant in Oradea, Romania, that eventually will provide 6 million tires per year and is ramping up production at its plant in Dayton, Tenn.
Leo Hillman, development manager for Nokian Tyres, told Tire Business that the predecessor of the Surpass AS01, the zLine AS, was made in Russia and discontinued, thus providing a significant gap in the tire maker's portfolio.
Until now.
"It was a very, very unfortunate situation that gave us the possibility to focus on developing the new, next generation of the UHP tire," Hillman. said. "... And we are very proud to be able to launch this new product in the North American market."
The most exciting part of the new product, Hillman said, revolves around its unique pattern, compound and durability.
Hillman told Tire Business that the product has the highest silica-content compound — named the Silica Sense tread compound — that Nokian has used in an all-season product, allowing engineers to improve different properties simultaneously.
"So we're kind of stretching the magic triangle in all different directions at the same time, which is really amazing," Hillman said, referring to the spider chart the industry uses to highlight different properties of each product. "The team has done an outstanding job on this product, (and the) compounding (plays a) key role in this one."
The tire, infused with puncture-resistant aramid fibers, has a treadwear warranty of 55,000 miles (90,000 kilometers). The compound, Nokian said, provides a smooth ride through extreme turns while planting to the road for rapid acceleration.
Hillman said the tires were benchmarked against competitors, rather than its predecessor, the zLine AS.
"Many UHP tires offer good grip and handling, but the Surpass AS01 also prioritizes durability, toughness and long life for a complete driving experience," Steve Bourassa, Nokian Tyres North America director of products, said.
The company said the tire's construction "allows drivers to find the ideal balance between grace and grit." Its outer shoulder and dedicated outer-middle rib helps cornering, and its solid center rib features "enhanced" 3D siping for handling and grip.
The Surpass AS01 has a tailored tread pattern, with wide circumferential grooves that function well on wet pavement and slick roads, while the shoulder claws and siping add extra grip in varying conditions, Nokian said.
Hillman said he's most impressed with the tire's balanced profile.
"We are bringing an excellent handling properties in combination with excellent wet braking, but we also are bringing a product that has a load resistance, which is, of course, important for the EVs, and has an impact on the range and mileage," Hillman said.
"It's not going to be like a tire that's worn out in 20,000 miles. It's going to give you a good mileage. And kind of as a proof of that, we've also gone up with the mileage warranty on the product in comparison to the previous generation."
The sustainability aspect to this product — a huge part of Nokian Tyres' focus — is borne out in two instances, according to Hillman.
The first, he said, is greater fuel efficiency, especially increasing range for EVs. In addition, the product is manufactured using recycled and renewable raw materials.
Hillman called creating a sustainable tire while preserving its fundamental properties "a very difficult balancing act."
"We want to be able to increase the sustainability and the environmental friendliness of the product," Hillman said. "But while doing that, we cannot compromise product performance, and we don't want to compromise the product price too much."
The tires, he said, are put through rigorous testing in order to determine whether they function as designed.
"So there's a lot of these little things that go along behind the scenes that might not be very visible to the end-consumer, but still we take them very seriously and are very important to us."