Nearly 50 DHL Express vans will begin running on the Michelin UPTIS[1] airless tire to make last-mile deliveries in Singapore by the end of 2023. The pilot program started with the first vehicles making the first delivery trips in January. Thanks to a partnership between DHL and Michelin, Michelin’s airless prototype tire, has taken another step forward. One year ahead of schedule, the very first Michelin UPTIS tires are now marketed in real-world conditions.
The Michelin UPTIS prototype is a puncture-proof wheel/tire assembly with no compressed air and is intended for cars and light vans. The air has been replaced by a revolutionary structure capable of supporting the vehicle. This ensures the wheel’s robustness and guarantees driving comfort and safety. It was designed as a plug-and-play solution that allows users to drive conveniently and not worry about road hazards impacting the tires.
It also limits the number of tires scrapped due to punctures.
With the Michelin UPTIS tire, DHL can optimise its fleet’s productivity and ensure business continuity, as tire pressure issues and punctures are eliminated. This will lower the frequency of tire replacement, leading to less wastage.
“As a pioneer in green logistics, we are excited to partner Michelin to trial its airless tires on our vehicles in Singapore. To drive sustainability efforts here, we have since converted 80 vehicles in our ground fleet to electric vans. This collaboration marks another milestone for us as we set out to green our last mile operations and achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the DHL network globally,” says Christopher Ong, Managing Director at DHL Express Singapore.
“Michelin UPTIS is a major breakthrough innovation in the tire field. This is a result of some fifty patents linked to the tire’s structure and high-tech materials. It demonstrates Michelin’s capacity for innovation in favor of safer mobility that is better for the environment. We are delighted that DHL is trusting Michelin to equip its fleet with the very first Michelin UPTIS tires, marketed one year ahead of schedule,” declared Bruno De Feraudy, Director of OEM activities for the Michelin Group.
Airless technology is the key to Michelin’s vision of a fully sustainable tire by 2050. Today, 20% of tires are scrapped prematurely due to flats and blowouts (12%) or irregular wear and tear caused by poor tire pressure (8%). Based on internal research[2], Michelin projects that UPTIS airless technology could prevent premature scrapping of up to 200 million tires a year worldwide or 2 million tons of material – a material savings roughly equivalent to the weight of 200 Eiffel Towers.
[1] UPTIS: Unique Puncture-proof Tire System, an airless tire developed in association with Maxion, the supplier of a specific rim for the UPTIS tire
[2] Derived from Michelin’s in-house “scrapyard” survey (2012–2015), based on a sample of 135.000 tires and extrapolated on a global scale (estimates indicate that 1 billion tires are discarded each year).
