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Eric Vines (left), director of research and development at Michelin, and Steve Kiefer (right), global purchasing manager at GM, present the type of company Tweel, called Uptis.
Mack Hogan | CNBC
General Motors and tire manufacturer Michelin have teamed up to design a prototype of a new type of wheel, designed to replace the tires and conventional wheels on which the automakers have been supporting for more than one year. century.
Airless wheels are a dream for tire manufacturers and automakers and offer a number of potential benefits, GM officials said and told Michelin at a press conference in Montreal. The French company has been working for several years on a concept dubbed tweel and finally plans to produce it for the mass market under the brand Uptis, said Tuesday officials of GM and Michelin.
"This brings us to the next level of development," said Steve Kiefer, global purchasing manager at GM. He said his production would be targeted by 2024
Of course, the question is whether the technology will work. GM will have to confirm this before locking the final production plans. Competitors, including Bridgestone-Firestone, are also working on airless tires.
In the current prototype of GM and Michelin, Uptis looks like a skeletal form of conventional tire. There are three individual components, starting with an outer layer of a mixture of rubber and synthetic compounds. It has the same type of tread as a conventional tire. But there are no side walls. Instead, the latest prototype uses high-strength composite spokes that are coupled to an aluminum hub, which mounts to the axle of a car just like a conventional tire.
General Motors and Michelin present their Tweel prototype under the Uptis brand.
Mack Hogan | CNBC
The Uptis can not be swollen. In addition, GM and Michelin believe that road safety can not be improved. Kiefer noted that industry data indicates that about one in five tires will experience a loss of atmospheric pressure at any given time each year. Inadequate inflation is often the cause of accidents and was blamed on hundreds of deaths involving Ford Explorers and Firestone tires two decades ago.
Although most major tire manufacturers are working on airless technology, their efforts have been slow, at least until now. The challenge has been to design a design that can match the behavior of conventional tires in terms of performance, handling, fuel efficiency and cost.
Eric Vinesse, head of research and development at Michelin, said the Uptis tire would be as fuel efficient as a conventional tire. Other benefits that companies tout include lower cost and longer life than conventional tires.
Michelin, which has performed many virtual tests on the Uptis, has recently started using it on real vehicles. GM tests it on a fleet of Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles.
GM's global purchasing chief, Steve Kiefer, introduces the company's Tweel Prototype, called Uptis, which he manufactures with Michelin.
Mack Hogan | CNBC
Disclosure: Paul Eisenstein is a freelancer for CNBC. His travels and stays at the Movin 'On Summit in Montreal, where the press conference was held, were handled by Michelin.
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