LAS VEGAS — Kenda Tire USA Inc. recently unveiled the Klever AT2 light truck tire, the successor to the Klever A/T line, which is designed to give consumers more highway driving benefits while maintaining the integrity of an all-terrain tire.
"It has got to look the part," a Kenda spokesman said. "And it has to deliver."
A smooth highway ride and good off-road grip seem mutually exclusive.
"Fortunately, engineers are stubborn," one Kenda engineer joked at the tire's unveiling at SpeedVegas, a high-performance/race track located about 20 miles south of downtown Las Vegas.
The Klever A/T2 was developed at the company's American technical center in Green, Ohio, and will be produced at the company's two-year-old plant in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, Kenda said. It replaces the Klever A/T, which has been in the firm's portfolio since 2012, for most sizes.
"While our current Klever A/T has been a proven performer, we allowed the market to drive the development points of the Klever A/T2," Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president of automotive sales, said. .
"In doing so, we tasked our North American Technical Center to push the capabilities of our new all-terrain tire to the next level."
Kenda said it will launch the tire with 40 P-metric and LT sizes initially, in sizes covering a range from 235/75R15 to LT275/65R20, and back it with a 50,000-mile limited treadwear warranty for LT sizes and 60,000 miles for P-metric and metric sizes.
The tire carries the tire industry's "three-peak mountain snowflake" symbol, indicating it exhibits winter traction capabilities.