NEW YORK — Pirelli & C. S.p.A. doubled the number of OE tire approvals on electric and plug-in hybrid cars in 2021, expanding the company's portfolio of OE approvals for such vehicles to over 250 worldwide.
Pelli estimates it will reach its target for market share in high-end electric vehicles (EVs) of around 1.5 times that of premium/prestige internal combustion vehicles this year, three years ahead of schedule.
The tire maker first launched its "Elect" tire line in 2019, a technology car manufacturers are increasingly choosing, Pirelli said.
The growth of the company's homologation portfolio confirms both an accelerating EV market but also "how car makers find Pirelli Elect tires to have the most suitable characteristics for their electric vehicles," Pirelli said.
The company pointed to the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept — which fits tires with technology for electrified cars — currently on display at the Tire Cologne in Cologne, Germany.
"Technology and sustainability are the pillars on which Pirelli's research and development work is based. Thanks to increasingly innovative technology, we support the transition of car manufacturers towards greener vehicles with tires suited to their performance," Pierangelo Misani, Pirelli's senior vice president of research and development and cyber, said.
"But sustainability is also found in our own products, which is why we are increasing the percentages of renewable and recyclable materials within the actual tires, in order to promote a circular economy over the product cycle, from raw materials to end of life."
