New CUV tires meet evolving OEM and consumer demands

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feature New CUV tires meet evolving OEM and consumer demands

By Bob Bissler

As OEMs continue to produce more variations of CUV vehicles, tire makers are up to the challenge of keeping them rolling on the correct tires.

Just in time for the 2013 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show Nov. 5-8 in Las Vegas, tire makers have CUV tires to launch and other established models to show of .

Here’s what tire makers told us they’ll be showcasing, and some share their plans for the future of CUV tires.

The Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 line is the f rst Ecopia product line tire designed specif cally for the CUV tire market.

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC

At Bridgestone we of er a wide range of tires for the CUV market, including our Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia, available in 20 sizes ranging from 215/65R16 to 245/50R20. We will have new sizes in early 2014. Continental Tire the Americas LLC

Continental Tire meets the demands of CUV customers with the CrossContact LX20 and with the new General Tire Altimax RT43 and Grabber HTS lines. New sizes and lines are updated as needed to stay in tune with the market.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

Cooper is very active in developing new CUV sizes with a focus on ride, handling and mileage. We have a range of new 19- and 20-inch CUV/ SUV sizes scheduled to launch in the next few months as additions to our Cooper Discoverer CTS, Mastercraf Courser HSX Tour, Cooper Discoverer A/T3 and Mastercraf Courser AXT lines.

Del-Nat Tire Corp.

We are expecting the release of the new Delta Sierradial AT Plus and National Commando AT Plus soon and have recently f nalized plans to add more CUV sizes to our Delta Esteem Plus and National Ovation Plus lines.

GITI Tire (USA) Ltd.

T e GT Radial CUV of erings include the Maxtour and the Champiro VP1. SUV products are found in the Savero HT2 product line. As the CUV market continues to grow and dedicated sizes increase, expect a number of manufacturers to of er a dedicated product line for the CUV category.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Goodyear designates CUV products with a “CS” label. Examples are the Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max, Goodyear Assurance CS TripleTred and Dunlop Signature CS. T e newest Goodyear tire is the Wrangler AllTerrain Adventure with Kevlar, a tire for light trucks and SUVs. It soon will be available in 44 sizes.

Hercules Tire & Rubber Co.

T e Hercules RoadtourXUV is a crossover-specif c tire that aims at delivering fuel-ef ciency and a quiet ride to consumers. We’ll be debuting a new SUV of ering at the SEMA Show, the Hercules Terra Trac HTS. Of ered in 26 SUV/LT SKUs, the Terra Trac HTS is designed to deliver stable, comfortable highway travel.

Kenda U.S.A. At the moment, Kenda does not have a tire specif cally for the CUV market;

The Continental CrossContact LX20 is available in 39 sizes ranging from 215/70R16 to 285/45R22. The Cooper Discoverer A/T3 is available in 32 LT sizes ranging from LT235/75R15 to LT305/55R20. Del-Nat will soon launch the Sierradial AT Plus engineered with a taller bead f ller and a new silicainfused tread compound. The GT Radial Champiro VP1 for CUVs is available in 56 sizes ranging from 175/70R13 to P235/65R18.