Royal Mail has commenced a six- to nine-month trial of new tyres on a number of EVs specially designed to help reduce particulate matter emissions and improve the range, efficiency and longevity of vehicles.
The trial is a joint venture between Royal Mail, Transport for London (TfL) and ENSO, as part of the London FreightLab innovation challenge. This challenge aims to tackle pollution, congestion and road danger in London.
The tyres, from manufacturer ENSO, claim to produce fewer microparticles in comparison to normal tyres, and increase vehicle range. Tests carried out by ENSO have also shown that its tyres can increase EV range by up to 11%, compared to standard tyres.
Some 15 electric vans at the West London Delivery Office, near Wembley, will be fitted with the new tyres during the trial. Throughout the six to nine-month period, the tyres will be monitored and weighed every six weeks to measure their wear rate and to estimate reduction in particulate matter emissions.
The checks will also ensure that the tyres fitted are wearing properly and that there are no health, safety or vehicle wear and tear issues. If the trial is successful, its results may inform future purchasing decisions across Royal Mail’s fleet.
James Baker, chief engineer and fleet director at Royal Mail, said: “As a company, we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact. The trial and potential wide scale introduction of more efficient and environmentally friendly tyres enables us to help achieve this, while allowing us to continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and responsibly.”
Read more: DPD and ENSO team up for London trial of air pollution-reducing EV tyres
