Around this time of the year, many drivers usually swap their summer tires for winter tires. Warm winters and the biennial tire change mean that more and more consumers give up and opt for so-called all-season tires. Is the definitive breakthrough of the four-season tire now that there is less driving due to the corona crisis, a matter of time?
Over the past ten years, the share of all-season tires in European sales has increased from around 2 percent to 11 percent last year. In the Netherlands, the band is slightly more popular with a share of about 16 percent. In addition, the four-season tire in the Netherlands is definitely the fastest growing segment, according to European figures. The city car segment (13-14 inch tires) has seen 13 percent annual growth over the past five years. Up a segment, for the 15-15 inch size, there has been 33 percent annual growth over the past five years. At 17-inches and above, the annual growth rate was 66 percent. Major tire manufacturers are unanimous about the underlying causes of this increase: increasingly warmer winter months, a consumer who wants to change tires less often and the quality leap that all-season tires have made.
‘Consumers give up after every warm winter’
“We see that a milder climate is hitting the demand for winter tires, also in the Netherlands. Some seven mild winters have meant that every year consumers have dropped out and stopped buying winter tires, ”says Robert Vervaart, manager consumer products Benelux at Bridgestone. “In many countries, including the Netherlands, you are increasingly seeing multiple types of weather conditions in a short space of time. For example, it can be 2 degrees in the morning and more than 10 degrees in the afternoon because of the sun. Under these conditions, all-season tires are truly always the best and safest choice. A summer tire becomes hard below 7 degrees and a winter tire soft again at higher temperatures, ”adds Tamara Oostveen, PR manager at Apollo-Vredestein.
Convenience and cost savings also play a role, they say at Continental. “With all-season tires you don’t have to go to the garage twice a year to be on the road safely. In addition, you save the costs of an extra set of tires, especially now that the winters are getting warmer, ”said a spokesman.
‘Quality and performance all-season tires getting better’
The fact that all-season tires are more popular, according to the manufacturers, is also due to the improved quality of these types of tires. “We have seen the quality and performance of all-season tires increase and improve,” says Vervaart.
“The winter tire is made of ‘softer’ materials / components that provide more grip on cold and wet surfaces. The winter profile together with the winter compound provide more grip in winter, but in summer when the temperature rises, the material becomes softer and the tire is less stable. Where a winter tire becomes softer in the summer, with a summer tire the opposite happens in the winter, ”explains Oostveen. “An all-season tire is made to perform well and safely in all these conditions. This is a really complex process of developing the right profile and materials and requires a lot of know-how. ”
Precisely because a four-season tire can perform in different conditions, the tire is suitable for countries with an average climate, they say at Continental. In addition, all-season tires are now so good that many tires have a so-called M + S marking, which means that they can serve as winter tires in Germany, for example, where ‘real’ winter rubber is mandatory.
‘All-season tires always a compromise’
Despite the performance level of all-season tires, manufacturers agree this rubber is not a panacea. “Summer and winter tires are always better equipped for the specific climate conditions,” said Continental’s spokesman. “The all-season tires is always a compromise. It performs slightly less than a summer tire in the summer and slightly less than a winter tire in the winter ”, Vervaar adds. He argues that as a compromise, the all-season tires could be perfect for the second car or for people with low mileage. “For frequent drivers the motto remains: do the tire change.”
Oostveen agrees. “We still recommend winter tires for riders who regularly ride in more extreme winter climates. We still recommend summer tires for drivers who want to get the most optimal and maximum performance from their car in the summer ”.
Road not automatically clear for all-season tires
Due to the corona crisis, there is now less driving. In addition, because of the government’s negative travel advice, many people will not travel to the Alps around Christmas this year. This may lead to a fall in the demand for winter tires and a further revival in the demand for all-season tires, although their popularity has so far mainly been at the expense of the summer tire.
“The effect on the total tire market has been the greatest in the first wave, under the influence of quarantines,” says Oostveen. “Afterwards, the market stabilized reasonably well again. For the total market in the Netherlands, we now see a decrease of about 10 percent compared to last year. ”
“For winter tires, little of the corona crisis is currently noticeable. Only now may people switch again. What we do notice is that many people have continued to drive on winter tires. They have not been in for a change in March / April. It is also difficult to estimate what the lease companies will do. One thing is certain: many companies and customers of lease companies are renewing their contracts for a year, which means an extra set of winter tires. We may notice that. At the bottom of the line, covid-19 will have an effect on the number of bands used. But that is not something that manifests itself in six months, it takes 2 to 3 years ”, says Vervaar.
The above does not mean that the way is clear for all-season tires. This is partly due to changes in the vehicle fleet and the increasing popularity of electric cars. “These vehicles are generally a lot heavier and a lot more powerful. That demands more from the tires and then a four-season tire becomes even more of a compromise than it already was ”, Vervaar explains. “We also see this reflected in the guidelines from the manufacturer. There is not even a word about all-season tires. ”
Read our comprehensive all-season tire test 2020 here.