Michelin to Launch the 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum this Weekend in Rio de Janeiro

PARIS, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum will be held this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Sunday, May 30 to Thursday, June 3.

Most events will take place in the Riocentro Convention and Exhibition Center, which was also the venue for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit that led to the Agenda 21 sustainable development program for the 21st century.

The first day of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum features the start of the Rally and the technical tests. The nearly 80 vehicles that will take part are divided into three categories, each to follow its own itinerary. Cars will drive from Rio de Janeiro to Petropolis north of the city, while trucks and buses will travel from Rio to Resende west of the city, and urban vehicles will be driven near the Riocentro. The Rally will also include acceleration, noise and handling tests to demonstrate the very low "well-to-wheel" carbon emissions for vehicles that use certain types of biofuels, such as ethanol made from sugar cane, as well as for EVs.

The official opening ceremony of the 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum will take place at 10:00 a.m. on May 31. It will be attended by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; Sergio Cabral, Governor of Rio de Janeiro State; Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro; and government officials from both Brazil and Argentina and from other countries.

During the five-day event, the 4,500 guests and participants will have the opportunity to talk with each other, meet international sustainable mobility experts, test some of the nearly 150 vehicles entered in the 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum, take part in theme discussions and the Forum, visit the Technology Exhibition Center and attend press conferences. Michel Rollier, Didier Miraton and Jean-Dominique Senard will hold a press conference at Riocentro on Tuesday, June 1 at 2:30 p.m.

Initiated by Michelin in 1998, the Michelin Challenge Bibendum is the world's only event that brings together car, truck, bus and motorcycle manufacturers, academics, OEMs, energy suppliers, research institutes, government authorities, NGOs and other sustainable mobility stakeholders to discuss the issues involved in the challenges of sustainable mobility. This year, the event is being held for the first time in South America – in Brazil, a country that for more than 20 years has been committed to finding alternatives to fossil fuels.

For the 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum, the Michelin Group will present three types of innovative products:

• Future generations of low fuel consumption tires that also enhance safety and increase total mileage. The latest-generation tire, the MICHELIN ENERGY™ Saver, improves a car's energy efficiency and environmental impact, reducing fuel consumption by nearly 0.2 liters per 100 km and CO2 emissions by almost 4 grams per km.
• The first prototype tires for electric vehicles, which can increase vehicle operating range by nearly 10%.
• Motorized wheels and the MICHELIN Active Wheel, which help to optimize the design of electric and hybrid vehicles.

For the occasion, the Michelin Challenge Bibendum is also taking advantage of its first visit to South America to totally overhaul its website, transforming it into the sustainable road mobility portal – michelinchallengebibendum.com. In addition to providing information, the constantly evolving portal will serve as a forum where experts and the public can exchange views on topics, challenges and solutions that can help to enhance sustainable mobility. It will also provide extensive information about the 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum.

In late May, Michelin is releasing a book entitled Rouler demain, vers une mobilite routiere plus durable, which will be available in English, French, Portuguese and German. The three first-mentioned versions can already be downloaded free of charge from the Michelin Challenge Bibendum portal. Beginning in early September, the French version of the book will also go on sale in bookstores in France for euro 12.

SOURCE Michelin