The value-added designation is exclusive to the company’s X One tires – not for wide single tires in general, according to Ted Becker, Michelin’s vice president of marketing for the category.
“X One tires continue to prove their value to drivers and fleets on tens of thousands of trucks and trailers across America,” says Becker.
“The designation by Truck Blue Book, supported by the Used Truck Association, is a clear indication of the growing share these wide single tires are taking in the market and the residual value boost they give to the used trucks in the industry,” he notes.
“We strongly considered the factual fuel and weight savings that X One tires provide for a tractor,” reports Terry Williams, the publication’s managing editor. “After that, the decision to make them a value-added component was easy. Truck Blue Book recognizes value where it exists, and X One tires are valuable on used trucks.”
Michelin announced in late 2010 that the X One line – which includes tires for a variety of applications – was enjoying a banner sales year. It also reached the milestone last year of hitting the one-million-tire mark since being launched in 2000.
Fleets using X One tires have since gained up to 10 percent in fuel efficiency, which has saved more than 80 million gallons of fuel and reduced CO2 emissions by 809,000 metric tons. Even for a fleet with just 10 trucks, fitting X One tires can mean a potential savings of 15,000 gallons of fuel per year and a reduction of 150 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year – the equivalent of removing 30 cars from the road, according to the company.
A 383-page report made available by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2009 found significant improvement in fuel efficiency when wide single tires were used instead of dual tires – 6 percent overall and 10 percent with fully loaded tractor- trailers. More than 700,000 real-world miles were driven by six instrumented tractors and 10 trailers over the course of the four-year test.
For more information, visit www.michelintruck.com.
