Driveguard tyres can enable a car to remain controllable and be driven for 50 miles after a puncture; many more sizes are now available…
Kim Henson reports.
Bridgestone’s award-winning DriveGuard tyre is now available for thousands more motorists, with 19 ‘summer’ sizes (i.e. not the ‘winter’ range) being made available from the original 10 last year.
Since its launch in 2016, the DriveGuard summer and winter tyre range has earned a number of awards and plaudits for its ‘game-changing’ qualities and Bridgestone says that sales are currently 25 per cent above targets.
The innovative tyres offer drivers the safety and convenience of extended mobility. With reinforced sidewalls and hi-tech cooling fins, DriveGuard allows motorists to keep control and continue driving at 50 mph for up to 50 miles after a puncture. DriveGuard can be fitted on almost any car with a TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring) system and are said to provide the added reassurance of excellent wet grip qualities.
DriveGuard’s first year kicked off with a spectacular launch event in Nice, where the media and dealers were given the opportunity to experience this technology for the first time. Across Europe, the plaudits for the product then started rolling in…
In Germany, DriveGuard took the REIFEN Essen 2016 Innovation Award in the category “Technology and Products” in May. The following month, Auto Express announced DriveGuard as the winner of its Product of the Year 2016. It was also awarded the Editor’s Choice Award later in the year. October shifted the focus to Ireland, with DriveGuard picking up a Tyre Innovation Award at the Irish Auto Trade Awards.
At the end of that month the second phase of the launch for markets in the East, South and South West Europe was held at the Bridgestone European Proving Ground near Rome.
The run of recognition extended into 2017, with DriveGuard being awarded “Prémio Cinco Estrelas” (Five Stars Award) in Portugal. And the icing on the cake duly arrived last month when DriveGuard was voted as one of the “Produits de l’Année” (Product of the Year), in France.
On this success, Jake Rønsholt, Managing Director of the Consumer Business Unit said: “Creating a new market segment can be daunting and we are proud to have received this recognition, but the proof of product comes from the end-users. Sales are 25% above our targets, and during this year we should see more than one million Bridgestone DriveGuard tyres on the roads of Europe.”
Bridgestone Europe is fully committed to 360° support for DriveGuard. Keep watching this space in 2017 for more about the DriveGuard story.
Bridgestone DriveGuard is available in 19 summer and 11 winter sizes, covering 60% of the ‘addressable’ vehicles equipped with TPMS. Size expansion to SUV and higher rim sizes is scheduled for early 2018.