Continental’s CityPlus concept: The way forward for urban driving?  

Continental has unveiled an energy-efficient solution to city driving: CityPlus. This new concept will increase total energy efficiency of a tyre by 10%, reduce CO2 emissions, and extend the driving range of passenger cars in urban driving.    

City driving is its own consideration. The stop and go of traffic and unique hazards are ubiquitous and can put stress on vehicles — and tyres.  

The applied torque from reacting to urban traffic can cause torsional deformation of tyres, and thus dissipate energy. Continental’s new CityPlus technology is designed to improve energy efficiency in urban driving conditions. As noted by Klaus Kreipe, who heads Continental Tyres’ original equipment business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, “the Conti CityPlus technology reduces the total energy consumption of a tyre. We see great potential, especially for electric vehicles, where every kilometre of range counts.” 

Conti CityPlus for EV

Continental’s technology appears to be future-focused and taking in the market shift to all things electric. As electric vehicles have higher torque and greater weight, they’re more susceptible to energy loss through tyres. In stop-and-go urban driving conditions, Continental has found that adopting CityPlus technology in tyres for electric vehicles increases the range of passenger cars by up to 3% and can save drivers 0.6kWh per 100 kilometres. Which, given concerns around range anxiety, will probably prove popular.  

Holistic approach to energy efficiency

“We believe that it is important to look at the energy efficiency of tyres as a whole. This includes free rolling as well as braking and acceleration,” shares Kreipe.  
 
Through 20 years of innovation and especially in the past 10 years, Continental has reduced rolling resistance in its passenger car tyres by an average of 25%. Considering tyres holistically has allowed Continental to provide “up to 10% greater energy efficiency with the same rolling resistance levels." This in turn, results in lower CO2 emissions from passenger cars with combustion engines. 

Energy-efficient modifications

The Conti CityPlus is based on Continental's EcoContact 6 series tyre, but what exactly has been changed to achieve higher overall energy efficiency? The Conti CityPlus has a specially designed V-shape tread (which creates a stiffer pattern structure), newly constructed stiffer carcass, and a modified rubber compound made from a special system of fillers and an optimized polymer network. These modifications are all designed to reduce tyre deformation during braking and acceleration, and thus improve energy efficiency. 

If most of your driving is in the city, would you consider a CityPlus tyre when the time comes? 

Hero image: Nabeel Syed