Bridgestone India announced the winners of the second edition of the Mobility Social Impact Awards on Monday. These awards identify, recognise and promote mobility innovations through advanced technologies and solutions in the field of social advancement.

The awards have three focus areas – Accessible, Safe and Smart mobility solutions, claims Bridgestone India. The first is innovative ideas that provide better accessibility to healthcare and nutrition, livelihoods, education and social inclusion is one area. The second is to assess safe mobility solutions that enhance safety and inclusion, bridging the present gender gap, disaster mitigation and increase road safety, states Bridgestone India. And the third is smart mobility solutions that yield a positive social impact, eliminating poverty, promoting biodiversity conservation and developing our rural communities.

The winners took home a total price money of INR three million in the three categories.

Sharing his views, Parag Satpute, Managing Director, Bridgestone India, said, “Bridgestone aims to positively impact the way people live, move, work and play. Mobility plays a key role in a nation’s development and thereby, has a significant impact on society. With these awards, we aim to recognise those who employ sustainable mobility solutions in the service of communities, thereby improving the quality of life. Being a global leader in mobility solutions, we understand what it takes to create innovative solutions and simultaneously aid to the needs of diverse communities. The winners of Bridgestone Mobility Social Impact Awards are a testament to this and we are honoured to recognise such innovators.”

The winners
As per Bridgestone India, Mentors Foundation, Tasgaon, Maharashtra was the winner for the “Two Wheels of Hope - Bicycle Bank project”, This project has been developed to solve distance and mobility challenges faced by girl students in rural areas to reach schools. Also, the project solved the problem of access to healthcare services in parallel. The tyre company states that an Accredited Social Healthcare Activist (ASHA) worker is allocated for every 1,000 families, and access to these families was only done by walking the distance. With Two Wheels of Hope, they are now able to reach out to the families well in time, as per Bridgestone India.

Bridgestone India further claims that the first runner up was Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra (NBJK), Hazaribagh, Jharkhand for its initiatives on restoring eyesight, free of cost, for rural, underprivileged citizens, with avoidable blindness – thus, restoring their mobility, social life and livelihood.

The second runner up was the Centre for Rural Development, Guwahati, Assam, for its project “Rickshaw Bank”. According to Bridgestone India, this project provides a means of self-employment to rickshaw pullers by offering a “rent-to-own” financing option to purchase an innovative, newly-designed rickshaw, DIP-BAHAN (originally designed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati). DIP-BAHAN is lighter in weight, has an improved centre of gravity, contains more luggage space and has a canopy to cover both puller and passengers.

The jury and felicitation
Bridgestone India states that the jury comprised Dr Sudha Kothari, Founder and Managing Trustee, Chaitanya; Arindam Lahiri, CEO at Automotive Skills Development Council – India; Prashant Ranjan Verma, General Secretary, National Association for the Blind; and Dr Lidwin Dias, Principal, College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai. Bridgestone India was represented on the jury by Apurv Choubey, Chief Human Resource Officer and Rajarshi Moitra Chief Commercial Officer.

The awardees were felicitated at the event attended by industrialist, philanthropist, humanitarian, Lila Poonawalla, as the Chief Guest, and Shankar Venkateshwaran, renowned expert on ESG and responsible business, as the keynote speaker, among other dignitaries from corporates, NGOs and the government and local administration, as per Bridgestone India.

As part of a strategic effort to increase its presence in the region's premium original equipment (OE) market, Kumho Tire has confirmed its plans to establish its first tyre production facility in Europe by 2027.

The company has shortlisted Poland, Serbia and Portugal as possible locations for the plant, which is projected to need an investment of more than KRW1 trillion (USD 705 million). The decision is closely linked to Kumho’s ambition to strengthen its partnerships with European automakers and was revealed by Kumho Tire CEO during the South Korean premiere of Kumho's new Ecsta Sport tyre line.

Kumho has recently secured OE supply contracts with major brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen Group. At the moment, Kumho runs eight tyre production plants in China, Vietnam, South Korea and the US. Its capacity to compete in the premium OE market, however, has come to be perceived as being constrained by the absence of a European production base. Through the benefits of local production, the new facility will improve response to European client requests, save freight costs and shorten delivery times, all of which will strengthen the company's partnerships.

Sentury Tire USA has opened pre-enrolment for its two associate dealer programmes (ADPs), the Delinte HYPERDRIVE Associate Dealer Program and the Landsail Elyte Associate Dealer Program, underscoring the company’s commitment to rewarding dedication and partnership to the Landsail and Delinte brands.

The ADPs, which are customised for each brand and intended to encourage dealers, will formally start on 1 June 2025. Both programmes give dealers access to special benefits, incentives and strong tools to help them expand their businesses. This involves dependable customer service, effective marketing and worthwhile financial incentives to promote dealers' success at every stage.

Beginning in Q3, dealers may earn up to USD three per tyre through the Delinte HYPERDRIVE Associate Dealer Program. Dealers can receive retroactive benefits for purchases completed in Q2 if they register before 1 June. The awards are available for all Delinte PTR, LTR and the new DV3 LMD AS last-mile delivery tyres. For all Landsail PTR and LTR tyres, independent dealers that sign up for the Landsail Elyte Associate Dealer Program can also earn up to USD three per tyre. For customers who sign up by June 1, the new LMD 100 AS last-mile delivery is also eligible for the benefits and will get the same early bird incentive for Q2 2025.

No initial order is necessary. Dealers only need to register to begin making money. According to the monthly programme rewards structure, 48 tyre purchases each month are eligible for a reward of USD one per tyre, 120 tyres are eligible for a reward of USD two per tyre and 240 or more tyres are eligible for a reward of USD three per tyre.

ENSO, a London-based tyre manufacturer engaged in the production of sustainable tyres specially designed for electric vehicles (EVs), has launched its new ENSO Premium range of EV-specific ultra-high-performance (UHP) tyres aimed at drivers of high-performance EVs such as the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Specifically designed for electric passenger vehicles, the ENSO Premium range comes with A/A EU-label ratings for both energy efficiency and wet grip. The tyres are designed to provide safety, increased range and a reduced total cost of ownership. Conventional tyre designs frequently fall short of the special performance needs of electric vehicles, which include greater vehicle weight, regenerative braking and higher torque loads. By lowering tyre wear and rolling resistance, ENSO Premium takes care of these issues.

The company is an authorised provider of replacement tyres for LEVC's electric taxis and has partnered with Uber to install its tyres in high-mileage metropolitan areas. The company now plans to grow throughout Europe and North America, and with ENSO Premium, it is now offering its services to individual EV owners throughout the United Kingdom. According to ENSO, the range offers advantages including longer tyre life and fewer replacements, lower energy usage, fewer charging stops and lower CO₂ emissions and tyre particle pollution.

Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO and Co-Founder, ENSO, said, “We’re plugging a long-standing gap in the tyre market by offering EV drivers a purpose-built, affordable, premium EV tyre alternative that matches the innovation of their EV.”

Kraton Corporation, a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value bio-based products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, has announced a general price hike in North America for its SBS, SIS and HSBC product lines with effect from 1 May 2025.

Following a careful analysis of the effects of recently implemented tariffs, related cost increases and a conclusion that the company cannot independently absorb these repercussions, Kraton is adopting these pricing hikes, according to a company statement. The company further said that it will keep an eye on the scene and reassess these measures promptly in the event that conditions and US import tariffs alter.