Goodyear Tire Ramping Up Presence In Electric Vehicle Space: What Investors Should Know

One of the largest tire companies in the world is diving deeper into integration with electric vehicles. Here’s a look at the plans from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company GT in the EV space.

What Happened: Goodyear Tire announced the launch of the new Goodyear ElectricDrive tire and two new sizes for its ultra-high performance tire on Thursday.

The announcement brings four new sizes to the company’s electric vehicle tire lineup. Goodyear said in the announcement that the Goodyear ElectricDrive tires now fit 44% more battery electric vehicles operating in the U.S. today with the additional sizes and tires.

The ElectricDrive tires also come with a 60,000-mile limited warranty.

The new tires geared to electric vehicles allow for heavier load capacity and feature SoundComfort Technology that reduces interior vehicle noise.

Related Link: Analyst Ratings For Goodyear Tire & Rubber

Why It’s Important: The new ElectricDrive tires will allow Goodyear the ability to fit on vehicles like the Nissan Leaf, Kia Niro and the Chevrolet Bolt and Volt from General Motors GM.

“Goodyear remains focused on offering innovative products and technologies for the EV segment and providing drivers with the quality, performance and enhanced treadwear they expect from our brands,” Goodyear Consumer Product Marketing Director Michiel Kramer said.

Goodyear launched the ElectricDrive GT tire in December 2021.

“The addition of the new ElectricDrive GT sizes allow us to meet the unique needs of more electric vehicle drivers with premium, performance Goodyear products.”

Goodyear has been around for over 100 years and is a leader in the tire space. The company’s increased offerings and focus on electric vehicles could be important for the sector.

A major player in the space putting time and resources into electric vehicles shows that there is growth coming, and Goodyear could be trying to get ahead of the game. The move by Goodyear could also force rivals and peers in the tire space to adapt more closely to creating tires specific for electric vehicles.

Goodyear introduced its first tires specific for electric vehicles back in 2018 with a focus on durability and lasting longer, with electric vehicles wearing out traditional tires faster. Initially, Goodyear was focused on providing tires for Tesla Inc TSLA vehicles. With other companies growing their electric vehicle lineups, Goodyear is now making sure it has tires for most sizes of electric vehicles.

GT Price Action: Goodyear shares were down 2% to $13.57 on Friday. Shares have traded between $10.33 to $24.17 over the last 52 weeks.