New Standards For Tyres In India: Government Regulations For Wet Grip, Rolling Resistance & More

Tyres are the most important component of a vehicle. Irrespective of how well-engineered a vehicle is, if the tyre is not in shape, the vehicle wouldn't perform well. This is applicable across all segments. Be it a supercar, or a truck, its tyres are the only point of contact with the road and hence it is important to have good tyres.

However, tyres are often one of the most ignored bits of a vehicle. Buyers often pick the cheapest tyre on the market just to keep the vehicle running. The cheapest tyres are not even close to being the best option for your car. However, the tyre market in India is largely unorganised and is not regulated.

There are some brilliant tyres on sale in India and at the same time, there are also several low-quality tyres that are imported most often from China and these tyres are sold at unbelievably low prices which makes them lucrative. The Indian government seems to have taken notice of this and is now set to bring in new regulations and standards for tyres.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) recently issued a notification for new standards for tyres in India regarding rolling resistance, rolling sound, and wet grip.

These standards will have to be followed for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles. All tyres sold in the country will have to comply with wet grip and rolling resistance standards from April 2023. Rolling noise standards will have to be conformed to from June 2023.

Of the three parameters for the new standards, wet grip is the most important. A majority of the Indian sub-continent receives a lot of rainfall and yet, the tyres in use aren't really checked thoroughly for wet grip. In developed international markets, there are separate tyre segments to cater to the different seasons. In India though, one tyre is used in all conditions.

While we will continue using the same set of tyres throughout the year, it is quite clear that we will now slowly get a greater standard of tyres in the Indian market. With the new standards, India will line up with the regulations set by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Thoughts On New Standards For Tyres Being Implemented In India

This is an important chapter in the history of the Indian automotive industry. In recent times, new safety standards were set for cars and cars have become safer in India. Now, better tyres are all set to complete the package.