Nokian releases tires with retractable studs

In 2014, Nokian Tyres surprised the industry with the concept of a winter tire with retractable studs, whose protrusion changed with the press of a button in the cabin, and at that time it was just a design idea, but now the company has decided to implement it in practice. The studs on the serial tires, of course, will not be activated with the help of a button, and the change in protrusion is ensured by a rubber compound that adapts to weather conditions: when it warms up, the compound becomes softer, as a result of which the studs sink deeper into the tread, improving the properties of the tires on dry and wet asphalt, and when it cools down, the stiffness of the mixture increases, and the studs come out, strengthening the grip on ice and snow.

The technology has been named On-Demand Grip, and the first tire with retractable studs will be the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 01, designed for both passenger cars and crossovers and SUVs.

According to the manufacturer, compared to the previous generation of tires, the grip on ice and wet asphalt has been increased by 10 and 5%, respectively, while the wear on the road surface has been reduced by 30%, and in addition, the noise level has been reduced by 1 dB. All these features are designed to attract consumers "who prefer studded tires but are concerned about road wear and noise".

Nokian says that after the presentation of the concept tire in 2014, the company's experts worked tirelessly around the world to bring this idea to life, and during this time, thousands of prototypes were tested in various conditions, from laboratories and city streets to the famous tire manufacturer's testing ground in Ivalo (Finland) and the Hakkapeliitta test center in Spain.

"Nokian Tyres invented winter tires in 1934, and the first Hakkapeliitta tires were introduced 90 years ago, in 1936," the company notes. "Now, nine decades after the premiere of the legendary family, the new generation of Hakkapeliitta is changing the concept of driving in winter conditions as a result of years of development of studded tires that can adapt to weather conditions".

As Mikko Liukkula, the manager of the tire development department at Nokian, who supervised the project, bringing it from concept to serial production, told us, "we set out to rethink what winter tires can be. We didn't want to compromise on ensuring a balance between excellent grip on ice and low road wear, which is a common problem when developing winter tires. Instead, we developed tires whose grip is automatically adjusted depending on the temperature".

Nokian President and CEO Paolo Pompei called the development of the Hakkapeliitta 01 "one of the greatest achievements for our company since the release of the first winter tire over 90 years ago". "We've done what was previously thought impossible: created a studded tire that responds to temperature changes, providing maximum safety and protecting roads [from the impact of studs]", he said.

In addition, the tread of the new tires is partially made from renewable materials, such as natural rubber and raw materials derived from pine resin and rapeseed oil.

Sales of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 01 will start in the fall of 2026, and the main markets will be Scandinavia and North America, and the tires will be produced at the plant in Nokia (Finland).