GOODYEAR INTRODUCES GOODYEAR® ELECTRICDRIVE™ 2 WITH ELEVATED PERFORMANCE CAPABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

New Goodyear® ElectricDrive™ 2 is built for electric vehicles and designed to deliver upgraded all-season traction and long-lasting tread life

AKRON, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At CES® 2024, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) unveiled the latest tire in the ElectricDrive™ family: The Goodyear® ElectricDrive™ 2, an all-season electric vehicle (EV) tire enhanced with sustainable materials¹, improved rolling resistance² and long-lasting tread life to maximize drivers' EV performance. The new ElectricDrive™ 2 is the latest step in Goodyear's sustainability maturity and contains at least 50% sustainable materials per tire by weight^{1, 3}. 

According to recent consumer EV research conducted by Goodyear⁴, maintaining a quiet ride and wet road performance are the top two features that EV owners look for when considering a tire. To meet drivers' needs, the ElectricDrive™ 2 features SoundComfort Technology®,  a built-in sound barrier that helps reduce interior vehicle noise and an asymmetric tread pattern that provides confident handling for wet or dry road conditions.

"With the continued adoption of EVs, we want to meet consumer and market needs with an updated EV replacement tire," said David Reese, vice president, Product Development, Goodyear Americas. "We know EV drivers prioritize performance and a more-sustainable tire. The ElectricDrive™ 2 was designed with at least 50% sustainable materials, a focus on providing greater traction and maintaining a quiet ride."

This all-season tire will be available beginning May 2024 in the U.S. and come in 17 sizes designed to fit today's leading and emerging consumer EV sedans and CUVs, including the Tesla Models Y, 3 and S, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Chevy Bolt, Audi Q4 e-tron and many more.

The ElectricDrive™ 2 is equipped with the following features and benefits:

• SoundComfort Technology® foam inserts that help reduce the level of interior vehicle sound.
• At least 50% sustainable materials^{1, 3}, including the use of soybean oil in the tire's construction, rice husk ash silica and sustainably sourced natural rubber.
• Asymmetric tread pattern that is optimized to improve grip and responsiveness on wet and dry roads.
• Long-lasting tread compound, designed with resilience in mind to help EV drivers get more miles out of their tires.
• Aerodynamic sidewall and innovative compound that lowers aerodynamic drag and enables lower rolling resistance².

The ElectricDrive™ 2 will be available for purchase in May 2024. For more information about the ElectricDrive™ 2, please visit www.goodyear.com or contact your local Goodyear authorized dealer.

About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 74,000 people and manufactures its products in 57 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

¹ Goodyear defines sustainable material as a bio-based (defined as material of biological origin (Source: ISO 14021)); renewable; or recycled (defined as material that has been reprocessed from recovered [reclaimed] material (Source: ISO 14021)) material; or one produced using or contributing to other practices designed to promote resource conservation and/or emissions reductions, including ISCC PLUS mass-balance (defined as a certification verifying our capability to track the amount and sustainability characteristics of circular and/or bio-based material in the value chain and attribute it based on verifiable bookkeeping (Source: https://www.iscc-system.org/certification/chain-of-custody/mass-balance/ )) material.

² Rolling Resistance of ElectricDrive 2 was compared to first-generation  ElectricDrive GT

³ Each anticipated size of the ElectricDrive 2 contains at least 50% sustainable material by weight

⁴ in4mation insights EV features research, 2022, commissioned by Goodyear. The online study involved 750 US-based respondents who are the decision maker for auto services/parts purchase and own or lease at least one car or crossover

SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company