JK Tyre has introduced low-resistance EV tyres as well as smart tyres that send real-time pressure, temperature, and puncture updates to a driver’s mobile phone app. It is in discussions with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) about Ranger HPe EV tyres.
Anuj Kathuria, president (India) at JK Tyre & Industries said the industry focus is on making fuel-efficient engines, but tyres can too help. “This becomes more relevant as the adoption of EVs increases. In an EV either one can reduce the dead weight (batteries are a large part of EV weight) or one can overcome the rolling resistance,” Kathuria said. Its smart tyres include sensors that will send alerts to a driver’s mobile app if the temperature or pressure exceeds safe limits or if a puncture occurs. Treel, a JK Tyres subsidiary, will manufacture these sensors.
According to Kathuria, any JK Tyre can be retrofitted to become a smart tyre. The cost of converting four vehicle tyres to sensor-fitted smart tyres would be around Rs 3,000.
The company will launch a smart tyre variant for commercial vehicles (CVs) to track location with GPS. It is working with large fleet owners for this product.
