Bridgestone selected as official tyre provider for Audi e-tron

Bridgestone would be providing summer pattern and winter-type tyres for Audi e-tron. These tyres would be available in 6 different sizes.

Audi has announced that it as chosen Bridgestone to officially supply tyres for its electric SUV Audi e-tron. Bridgestone, which is already an original equipment partner with Audi is now the largest OE partner for the German luxury carmaker. Bridgestone would be providing 6 different tyres, 4 summer tyres and 2 with winter pattern, for e-tron in various sizes ranging from 19 inches to 21 inches.

This latest deal makes Bridgestone as Audi’s biggest tyre supplier. Last yeat Audi selected Bridgestone’s Turanza T005 for fitment to its new Audi A7 Sportsback. The Japanese tyre brand also supplies tyres for the A1, A6, and Q2.

“We are pleased to have been chosen by Audi to provide tyres as original equipment for their first-ever fully electric vehicle,” says Mark Tejedor, vice president of original equipment at Bridgestone EMEA.

“Audi has created a vehicle that is innovative, environmentally friendly and offers incredible driving comfort. It is only logical that it is being paired with Bridgestone tyres that offer the same characteristics. In an industry in rapid transformation where vehicles are becoming more and more CASE – connected, autonomous, shared and electric, Bridgestone delivers new solutions and technologies answering car manufacturer’s most demanding challenges thanks notably to our industry’s leading investments in R&D.”, Mark added.

Audi has high hopes with its first ever electric vehicle and are far from compromising on any front. The brand has designed e tron to be a luxury SUV that is fast, comfortable and offers a range of around 400 kms on a single charge. So, when partnering with Audi for e-tron, Bridgestone seems to have its work cut out. The tyres would have to particularly focus on low NVH- Noise, vibration and harshness, among other things.

Silent Tyres

Given that e-tron is an electric SUV, there would be very little motor noise filtering in to the cabin. So, technically it would be the tyres that could break the silence. This is where Bridgestone has promised to make use of its B-Silent technology. This involves using a sound-deadening layer of open-cell polyurethane foam element as inner lining in the tyre cavity. This would lead to a reduction in noise being transferred in to the cabin via the suspension setup.

No compromises on performance

e-tron goes from 1 to 100 kmph in just about 6 seconds. That’s fairly quick for an SUV weighing almost 2.5 tons. And to deliver this power on to the tarmac you need good quality tyres- tyres that offer confident grip, handling and effective braking to bring the car to a halt. To achieve this Bridgestone is going to shod e-tron with Bridgestone Alenza 001 SUV summer tyres. These tyres offer a wide contact patch for precise handling and confident traction, especially at high speeds. The tyre has also been awarded grade A rating as per EU tyre label for its superb wet grip.

For those who’d be using Audi e-tron over icy, slushy or snowy surfaces, Bridgestone has plans of providing Blizzak LM 001 tyres that have been proved to be very dependable over such terrains. This tyre makes use of Bridgestone’s patent Nano-Pro technology that provides improved grip. Nano-Pro technology was, in fact, specially designed for Audi and is also being used in Audi Q3.

Low rolling resistance for better range

Bridgestone has ensured that tyres provided for e-tron would offer low rolling resistance so as to consume less battery power. This simply means that you would be able to drive your EV for a longer distance on a single charge.

Read more: Bridgestone becomes official tyre provider for BMW X5 M Performance