Pirelli Ramps Up Production of EV Tires

The proliferation of hybrid and electric vehicles has made energy-efficient tires an increasingly important market segment, and tire giant Pirelli has followed that trend with their Elect designation for EV tires. Vehicle manufacturers’ approvals of the line doubled last year; Pirelli says they’ve racked up more than 250 homologations since the Elect designation debuted in 2019. The tire is now available for many aftermarket applications.

Pirelli’s Elect designation identifies versions of the company’s P-Zero, Cinturato, Scorpion, and other tire lines explicitly designed to cope with the unique demands of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. “Developing a tire specifically for electric vehicles requires several considerations you do not encounter when working with internal combustion engines,” said Ian Coke, Chief Technical Officer at Pirelli North America. “Electric vehicles are heavier, have more powerful and faster acceleration off the line, and require lower rolling resistance,” Coke adds. According to the manufacturer, Elect-designated Pirelli’s give EV drivers an aftermarket tire that offers performance on par with original equipment rubber.

The word homologation is usually associated with racing. Often, a car maker has to produce a given model in sufficient quantities to count as a standard production vehicle, thus homologating—qualifying—it into a given racing class.

It’s not too different with tires, except in this case, a tire is developed with and tested by a car manufacturer to ensure it delivers the required performance levels. Once a manufacturer has accepted and homologated a tire design, it carries an identifying mark stamped into the sidewall. The process is time-consuming and expensive; generally, only tires for high-end cars like Mercedes, Porsche, or Tesla are homologated.

Look to retailers like TireRack.com for Pirelli Elect tires.