Speed ​​up the development of Chinese tire standards

The “Tire Industry Access Requirements” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was implemented from October 1, 2014. Access conditions involve automobile tires and construction machinery tires, and encourage the development of energy-saving, environmentally friendly and safe green tires.

Industry access conditions are only basic standards. As the world's largest tire manufacturing country, China must have higher mandatory tire technical standards.

Recently, the National Tire Rim Standardization Technical Committee (referred to as the National Commission for Standardization) has publicly launched a timetable for the development of tire-related technical standards: starting from the second half of 2014, the National Commission for Standardization of the Wheels will begin to develop tire snow, slippery and noise tests. The draft will accumulate data; by the end of 2015, the approval for tire wetness and slippage and noise limit standards will be completed; in 2016, the application of mandatory standards for tire rolling resistance, slippage, and noise limits will begin.

â–  Meet international standards

From November 1, 2012, the European Union's Green Tire Labeling Act (referred to by the Chinese industry as the EU Green Tire Labeling Act) was formally implemented.

The EU Green Tire Labeling Law stipulates that tires for passenger cars, truck tires, and buses sold in the European Union must be labelled; tire labels indicate key parameters such as fuel efficiency level, rolling noise, and wet grip; fuel efficiency is divided into A, B, C, D, E, F, G seven grades, from the best to the worst with the green "A" to red "G"; tires that do not meet the minimum limit value shall not be sold in the EU market.

The EU Green Tire Labeling Act is implemented in three phases of 2012, 2015 and 2018.

Where Tier C tires and above, get EU financial incentives. After 2016, F and G grade tires will be regarded as unqualified and banned from import and sales. Its core mission is to promote green tires and ensure that energy consumption in Europe will be reduced by 20% by 2020. This is also the trend and direction of the development of the tire industry in the world.

The European Union's green tire labeling method places great demands on the manufacturing process of tires, especially for the production of high-performance rubber.

China has developed into the world's largest tire manufacturer, exporter and consumer. From 2002 to 2012, the average annual growth rate of tire production in China was above 15%, and the average annual growth rate of export volume was over 40%.

The EU is an important market for Chinese exports of tires. The relevant experts concluded on the basis of investigation and study that on the eve of the implementation of the EU Green Tire Labeling Act, nearly 50% of China's tires exported to the European Union are not up to the standards set by the EU Green Tire Labeling Act. Among them, about 30% of heavy-duty tires still do not meet the EU's first-stage minimum rolling resistance requirements, 70% reach the EU's second-stage rolling resistance minimum requirements; passenger car tire rolling resistance is mostly E, F grade, most The minimum requirements for the first phase of the EU can be met, but the minimum requirements for the second phase are generally not met.

China's national standards for rubber tires have not been related to such indicators as fuel efficiency level (rolling resistance), wet grip performance, and external rolling noise. The European Union’s implementation of the green tire labeling method directly challenges the design of relevant Chinese systems.

The European Union’s implementation of the green tire labeling law has once caused tremendous pressure on the Chinese tire industry. This market barrier has severely hindered the export of Chinese tire companies.

In an interview with reporters, Yang Hong, Minister of Qingdao Senlin Kirin Tire Co., Ltd.'s export department, said: “The National Commission for the Development of Wheels has set the mandatory standards for tire rolling resistance, slippery and noise limits, which are in line with the European Green Tire Labeling Law. ”

Xu Lihong, a senior engineer of the National Tire Rim Standardization Technical Committee, said in an interview with reporters: “The tyre technical standards we are working on are different from any previous tire standards and are new standards. The key guiding principle of our new standards is to be in line with international standards. ”

â–  Completion of "Grade" submission for approval in 2016

China's existing automotive tire technical standards only have rolling resistance limits (GB/T 29042-2012).

As early as in 2011 during the "two sessions" in the country, representatives of the National People's Congress proposed strengthening the construction of tire industry technical regulations and standards. In June of the same year, the relevant national authorities responded to this proposal: During the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, the National Standardization Administration will increase the development and revision of tire industry standards; the National Certification and Accreditation Administration is actively organizing experts to conduct research and strive for the earliest possible Formulate enforcement regulations that are more suitable for the current status of the tire product industry.

When is the grading standard for tire rolling resistance, slippery, and noise developed? This is a common concern in the industry.

The reporter interviewed the person in charge with this question and was informed that: The state has established a test network of the China Automotive Tire Laboratory, and has determined seven automotive tires rolling resistance test comparison labs; the National Round Bidding Commission will start tire rolling resistance test from March 2015. Accumulation of data; At the same time, extensive wet slip and noise tests were conducted to accumulate more test data, and some representative tire specifications were selected and sent to developed countries for testing and comparative analysis of data. It is expected that by the first half of 2016, the completion of grading standards Draft; the second half of 2016, complete the draft, draft review and approval draft.

â–  There are standards for quality assurance

The EU green tire labeling law covers almost all automotive tires, involving tire safety, environmental protection, energy consumption and other indicators, in essence, is a new green technology barriers.

In an interview with reporters, the academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Guo Konghui said: “There are standards and there is a guarantee for quality. China lacks a lot of technical standards. As far as setting technical barriers, China has not yet reached this level. In this regard, China has only just begun. No. With the accumulation of quantity, there is a qualitative leap before standards can be met."

China's development of this tire series standard places high demands on test equipment, facilities and other conditions. For example, in the three indicators of rolling resistance, slippery road surface grip, and noise regulated by the European Union's Green Tire Labeling Law, test data on the wet grip properties of the road surface grip and noise can only be obtained at the tire test site. However, China lacks a large-scale tire testing ground. Sources said that Shandong plans to invest 1.147 billion yuan in the construction of a national tire testing ground in Guangrao County.