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Bridgestone strengthens position in European OE market
02 March 2010
Now supplies all major car companies in Europe
Bridgestone has strengthened its position as a major player in the European tyre original equipment market with the announcement of new contracts with leading car manufacturers. With the extension of the ECOPIA eco-friendly range, the first contract with Citroën and the launch of the Potenza S001 Ultra High Performance tyre, Bridgestone now covers all the main market segments and supplies tyres to all major car manufacturers in Europe.
Expansion of ECOPIA eco-friendly range
Bridgestone has extended its range of ECOPIA eco-friendly tyres and gained new fitment agreements in all car segments, from large luxury models to small-sized city cars. Thanks to Bridgestone’s new materials technology, ECOPIA tyres meet the challenging and previously contradictory objective of combining top-class wet safety with reduced rolling resistance, leading to higher fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions.
New ECOPIA fitments include: Turanza ER300 ECOPIA on Mercedes C, SLK (16” and 17”)E (16”) and S Class – including Hybrid (17”), Skoda Octavia (15”) , Toyota Avensis and Opel Insignia (17”); B250 ECOPIA on Toyota IQ and Prius; RE050 ECOPIA (18”) on Mercedes S Class) and Potenza RE050A RFT ECOPIA (Bridgestone’s first ECOPIA run flat tyre) on BMW Z4.
First Citroën fitment
Citroën has for the first time in more than 70 years granted its confidence to a second tyre supplier in Europe. Bridgestone has started delivering Turanza ER300 tyres for the new C3 5-door hatchback and Potenza RE050A tyres for the stylish DS3 3-door hatch, the first model in Citroën’s new premium DS line.
“Expanding our business with French car manufacturers and a top European player like Citroën strengthens our position as a global player” comments Mr Didier Schneider, Vice President Original Equipment, Bridgestone Europe.
New UHP Potenza S001
Bridgestone’s new flagship Ultra High Performance tyre is designed with high-stiffness blocks to give the world’s top sports cars maximum sporty performance. This new state-of-the-art tyre, which also delivers high efficiency with reduced rolling resistance, has already been selected as factory fitment for the Aston Martin Rapide and Ferrari 458 Italia.
Media information: G. Meylemans/D. Collins: +32 2 714 68 40
Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 20 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.