CFC Solutions, a fleet software specialist, welcomes new EU tyre labelling and says it will allow fleets to make better informed buying decisions.

The new compulsory labelling will come into effect in November and will show fuel economy, wet weather braking and tyre noise with ratings given on an A-G scale.

Neville Briggs, Managing Director at CFC, said: “Fleets may start to specify tyres that only have an A or B rating for fuel economy and wet weather braking, in the same way that they may currently have a policy that says any car on their choice list must have four or five NCAP stars.

“Certainly, it would make sense to align the tyre ratings in some way with existing fleet risk management and environmental policies. It may be that, quite quickly, fleets stop using tyres that do not score highly altogether.”

However, some tyre companies have pointed out that key tyre performance factors, notably longevity, are not part of the labelling.

In other news, research by the Freight Transport Association shows operating costs for heavy goods vehicles are at an all time high.