Michelin Launches Revolutionary Premier® All-Season Tire This Spring In North America

GREENVILLE, S.C., April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Michelin announced today the MICHELIN® Premier® A/S tire with revolutionary new EverGrip™ Technology is now available to consumers across North America through more than 10,000 authorized dealer locations. Unveiled earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MICHELIN® Premier® A/S tire with EverGrip™ features an evolving tread design and high-traction rubber compound to deliver exceptional levels of wet grip providing enhanced safety even as the tires wear down.

Even when worn, the MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip technology still stops shorter on wet roads than the leading competitors' brand new tires¹. The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire provides confidence over time when driving on wet roads through a combination of hidden grooves in the shoulder that emerge as the tire wears down, expanding rain grooves around the center that widen over time to continue to evacuate water and a unique rubber compound that continues to deliver enhanced wet grip performance.

"The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip gives consumers a new choice in safety for their automobiles," said Scott Clark, chief operating officer of Michelin North America's passenger and light truck tire division. "While other tires lose significant wet grip over time, the MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip has breakthrough technology that prolongs wet traction over time, giving drivers greater peace of mind and improved control."

The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire represents a dramatic leap forward in tire technology. Tires rely on grooves between the tread design to evacuate water and maintain grip with the road. Wet traction is particularly important for automotive safety because drivers are more than twice as likely to be in an accident on wet roads compared to dry roads².  Traditionally, conventional tires lose traction during wet conditions as the tread becomes worn, decreasing the tire's ability to funnel water away and increasing stopping distances and the chances of hydroplaning.

The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire has been engineered specifically to address this natural wet traction degradation with tread depth loss with its new EverGrip technology. Unlike conventional tires, the MICHELIN® Premier® A/S tire uses a revolutionary design with a unique set of features to prolong wet traction even as the tire becomes worn. The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip Technology uses three main elements to provide this traction over time:

• High-traction Rubber Compound: MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip features a proprietary rubber compound with extreme amounts of silica and sunflower oil. The silica provides the bonding strength and adherence to keep the treads on the road for exceptional traction in wet conditions. The sunflower oil allows the tire to grip on wet roads at lower temperatures. These ingredients are mixed through an exacting process that ensures a consistent material contacting the road both when new and worn.
• Expanding Rain Grooves: In most tires, as the rain grooves lose depth, the amount of water they can funnel away from the tire is diminished. MICHELIN Premier A/S with EverGrip has rain grooves positioned around the circumference of the tire with a unique geometric shape that gets wider as the tread wears. This helps maintain the amount of water that the tire can channel away even as these rain grooves lose depth.
• Emerging Grooves: Initially hidden when the tire is new, MICHELIN Premier A/S with EverGrip has another set of grooves along the tire's shoulder that emerge as the tire becomes worn. More than 150 hidden grooves emerge to provide additional help in channeling water away and maintaining wet traction as miles are logged.

These three elements work together to give MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip exceptional traction in a range of conditions year round. The Premier A/S with EverGrip provides consumers with shorter stopping, hydroplaning resistance and increased grip when new and worn.

"The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip is the latest breakthrough in more than a century of technology milestones for Michelin," Clark said. "Michelin remains committed to staying on the leading-edge of research and development so that it can continue to provide consumers with new products that make their driving experience safer and more enjoyable."

The MICHELIN Premier A/S tire with EverGrip is initially available in 32 sizes (185/65R15 – 245/45R18) fitting a range of passenger cars including the Cadillac CTS, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry among others. Michelin will offer a limited 60,000-mile warranty and the product will start with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $156. It will be manufactured in North America at Michelin plants in Lexington and Greenville, S.C., Ardmore, Okla., and Pictou County and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

The Premier A/S with EverGrip follows a long history of tire innovations by Michelin. In 1946, Michelin introduced the radial tire – a special radial ply design now almost universally used in tires that makes them both durable and flexible. In 1992, Michelin was the first tire maker to use silica widely, silica gives tires low-rolling resistance for improved fuel efficiency and improved grip for performance.

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,000 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations.

¹ Based on internal wet braking tests at 40 and 50 MPH versus Goodyear® Assurance® Tripletred™ A/S tires in sizes 235/55R17(99H) and P215/60R16(94V), Bridgestone® TuranzaTM Serenity Plus in size 215/60R16(95V) ; using MICHELIN® Premier® A/S tires in sizes 235/55R17(99H) and 215/60R16(95V) buffed to 5/32 of tread. Actual on road results may vary.

² 2012 NHTSA Report: Tire-Related Factors in the Pre-Crash Phase

SOURCE Michelin North America

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