I’ve been commissioned to write a white paper piece on technology. One of the areas I was covering was the new breed of especially fuel efficient cars – all of which have some eco-babble marketing speak to point out that they are different. And, usually, cost more.

You know the sort I mean: Ecomotive; ecoFlex; Bluemotion; ECOnetic; and so on.

Many of these feature low rolling resistance tyres. I needed to find out more about them so I spoke to Steve Dolby at Michelin. Steve is the product marketing manager car, van & 4×4 at Michelin.

I thought it was worth sharing the information. This is what Steve had to say.

A tyre is responsible for 20% of a car’s fuel consumption – the equivalent of one tank in five! This is down to what we call rolling resistance.

So what is tyre rolling resistance? For each revolution of the tyre, its rubber compounds deform as they follow the contours of the road. As the rubber is deformed, it warms up and energy is lost in the form of heat. This loss of energy is the phenomenon known as ‘rolling resistance’. Tyre rolling resistance cannot be completely eliminated, but reducing it as much as possible means less fuel will be used.

Typically, using low rolling resistance tyres can save up to 0.2 litres of fuel per 100km (about 1mpg). In business car use, this could equate to a fuel saving of around 2%. CO2 emissions will also be reduced by around 4g/km.

Many vehicle manufacturers are also seeing the benefits of low rolling resistance tyres, and are fitting them to the most economic models in their ranges in order to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. For example the new Ford Fiesta Econetic is fitted as standard with Michelin Energy Saver tyres.

Michelin’s Steve Dolby helps out