The Triangle brand lineup has been added with a new winter tire
Company Triangle Tyre has revealed details about its new non-studded winter tires, Triangle EffeXWinter TW421, which were presented at last year's TheTire Cologne exhibition in Germany.
The new product is categorized by Triangle as Ultra-High Performance (UHP), meaning it is designed for powerful vehicles and can be used at high speeds (up to 270 km/h in 20-inch sizes), while the directional tread pattern is designed for rapid water and slush removal, reducing the risk of aquaplaning and shortening braking distances in complex conditions. Additionally, the increased transverse stiffness of the tread enhances stability and controllability in turns, adaptive lamellas improve traction on snow and ice, and the rubber compound with functionalized polymers of the latest generation has allowed increasing the efficiency of the tire at various temperatures.
In comparison with the previous generation tires — Triangle Snowlink PL02 — such parameters as handling on dry and wet asphalt, as well as braking and traction on ice, have been improved, but the braking efficiency on snow has slightly worsened.
The lineup includes 17 sizes from 225/55 R18 to 275/35 R20, and according to the EU labeling system, the tire received a "C/D" rating for fuel efficiency and a "B" rating for wet grip.
As Mirko Spinella, currently the commercial director of Triangle's European division, said during TTC 2024, last year the company planned to sell around 4 million tires in Europe. "This is significant progress, considering that we started with 400 thousand tires," he stated.
According to Angelo Giannandrea, Triangle's marketing director in Europe, the company's main focus is currently on improving productivity: "We have significantly increased our sales, and now we cannot fulfill all orders ... We are also working on improving brand recognition. This takes time."
In addition to winter tires, Triangle also offers all-season tires in Europe, such as SeasonX and SeasonXVan. "We see that the demand for all-season tires is growing not only in Northern Europe, Italy, and France but also recently in the UK," Spinella noted, adding that Triangle intends to increase its production capacity, and negotiations are underway regarding the construction of a plant outside of China.
Regarding the original equipment (OE) sector, Giannandrea noted: "The OE segment of the passenger tire market does not play a significant role for Triangle in Europe, unlike in China. At the same time, we supply tires to major manufacturers of special equipment and pay great attention to this. Our tires, for example, are supplied for Caterpillar, which is equivalent to collaborating with Ferrari in the passenger car segment. We are also a tire supplier for Terex."
Photo: Annika Lütkemeyer