Smart mobility is as relevant as ever, with growing urbanisation rates in almost all countries across the globe. But the concept isn’t new. At least I recall reading about the future of driving when I was very young, and a university project concluded that in the future, cars would be able to connect to each other and slide onto some sort of rail system when driving on the highway, so nobody would have to worry about steering or speeding when covering the long stretches of the journey. Not surprising, the project couldn’t have been more wrong in its conclusion. But why didn’t it work? It would have reduced accidents, pollutant emissions, road wear and maintenance costs, and it would have probably been quite easy to develop guiding chips and software to let cars in and out of the chain.

Well, the answer is simple, and is proven by the fact that car sales are still going up worldwide in spite of an ever-growing range of alternative transportation methods available to the buyers: freedom. As global wealth keeps increasing, all societies can recognize that the first luxury people growing out of poverty take is to buy a car, in many cases even before considering taking out a mortgage to buy a house. Why do they do that? Obviously to signal their increased wealth to the people around them (it’s harder to show if your house is bought or rented), but also to enjoy the freedom of being able to go exactly where they want to go and when. In these corona times being able to move about without bumping into others in public transportation is of course also an important factor. If this wasn’t the case, car sales would be dropping rapidly. Public transportation is cheaper, if you compare it to total cost of ownership of a car it’s easy math, and in many cases it’s also faster and easier. Plus, you can be productive getting some work done or enjoying a good rest when you don’t have to sit at the wheel in a traffic jam.

For those who care about global warming and reducing the environmental impact, there’s even further incentive to get rid of the car, but still, this is not what we see in the new car sales figures – although you could argue that some people buy a new car because it pollutes less than the old one.

Bicycles

With all the new technology, it will be very interesting to see how smart mobility will be implemented in cities across the globe, and if it will change the trend for good. After all, it’s be big cities with massive population numbers that will make a difference for the planet. If we look at a city like Copenhagen, it has for many years focused on being the world’s best city to ride a bicycle in, and it has implemented many innovative structures allowing cyclists to zip from one place to another in a matter of minutes with minimal need to stop along the way. Some places bridges have been built just to cater to cyclists. No doubt you can get around faster and cheaper in Copenhagen if you ride a bike than by any other means of transportation.

Another thing that is becoming increasingly interesting in the big cities is the drone technology, now we have seen Chinese firefighters putting out high-rise fires using drones controlled from the ground, and many places they have also begun working as parcel or food delivery agents. But is there a viable case to argue that we will all be flying in private drone vessels instead of driving in cars in the coming decade? I wouldn’t bet my money on it. First of all, it would take long until the general public would trust a drone manufacturer enough to not fear dropping to the ground or being flung into a building or another drone mid-air at any moment. Second of all, they would most definitely run on electricity, which we know from electric cars means very heavy batteries and/or short operation times. Probably in colder regions you would also struggle with much lower performance during winter, and possibly weather conditions not allowing them to take off.

That’s another nightmare scenario – to be caught in a thunderstorm or hailstorm up in the air.

Naturally, the ultimate challenge would be that everyone would basically need to have a pilot license to operate them, and air traffic control would be an entirely new concept in this scenario. We have all seen movies like Stars Wars or The Fifth Element where flying vehicles somehow get into invisible lanes and layers, but it’s hard to see how that can go from fiction to reality.

Urban hubs

So, how can consumers most likely have their desire for freedom fulfilled within a smart mobility concept? Most likely by creating urban hubs or city line parking facilities, so it’s easy to take the car to, from, or between cities, but not inside them. At these hubs, you would park the car and jump on the next shuttle to anywhere in the city, or even ride a bike that you brought with you. Designing these hubs, along with ample green areas in the cities, is the only way that any city planner can create the grounds for real smart mobility, and not take people’s freedom away from them. Then the only thing left is to address the issue of the environmental impact caused by passenger cars, both combustion engine emissions and tyre pollution from wear during use and waste management at end of tyre life.

Tyre manufacturers don’t seem to be making huge changes to the technology yet, except for a few innovative products like the Michelin Tweel – and the ultimate challenge is of course that the vehicle so far has to be in contact with the road surface to move and handle satisfactorily. It’s hard to imagine any tyre concept where rubber against the road surface isn’t involved, and it’s also hard to imagine any tyre manufacturer supporting such a project, given the massive investments they have in their production equipment, which isn’t easy to readjust to put out something else. Well, at least not any serious manufacturer – there was a Chinese plant that stopped producing tyres this year to start producing face masks instead because of corona demand, but that probably says something about the quality of both products coming out of that factory, and it makes me very interested in reading their mission statement.

Ultimately, for tyre manufacturers to start investing in any game changing product development, we would have to see a development like we have seen with British Tobacco actually advertising against smoking – which is very much in line with the trends of the day but doesn’t seem rational from a business perspective. So, to conclude, I’ll venture a bet that we won’t see any drastic changes in how much smarter our mobility options will become until we either see a scenario that will allow people to experience the same level of freedom as owning a car, drastically reducing the environmental impact from driving and tyre waste, and/or creating cities where it utterly doesn’t make any sense to drive instead of hopping on the city’s smart mobility system, whatever that might turn out to be.

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JK Tyre & Industries has approved a phased capacity expansion plan involving an investment of INR 49.8 bllion to strengthen its presence in the Truck and Bus Radial (TBR) and Passenger Car Radial (PCR) tyre segments.

The company said its board of directors, at a meeting held on May 26, approved the expansion of TBR production at its Chennai Tyre Plant (CTP) and Vikrant Tyre Plant (VTP), along with PCR capacity expansion at the Chennai facility.

JK Tyre currently has an installed TBR and PCR capacity of 21 million tyres per annum, including capacities under implementation, with utilisation levels running at over 90 percent. The proposed expansion will increase overall capacity by 24 percent and is scheduled to be completed by FY30.

The investment will be undertaken in phases and financed through a combination of internal accruals and debt, the company said in its regulatory filing.

According to JK Tyre, the expansion is driven by robust demand across tyre categories in the Indian market and the need to maintain and strengthen its market presence.

The announcement comes alongside the company’s strong FY26 performance, with JK Tyre reporting record revenues and profitability amid rising domestic demand and higher sales volumes.

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Continental has introduced an addition to its retread product family with the launch of the ContiTread HDR 5, a regional retread designed to support fleet operations through enhanced durability and dependable performance. The new retread focuses on delivering confident handling, reliable traction and an extended service life for vehicles operating on regional routes.

The ContiTread HDR 5 employs a five‑rib tread pattern intended to provide predictable control, stability and even wear, particularly on routes involving frequent stops, sharp turns and mixed road surfaces. Its open shoulder design improves grip across various weather and road conditions, ensuring real‑world reliability while preserving both durability and overall mileage.

Developed to balance toughness with performance, the retread helps fleets maximise value from each retread cycle. Available widths include 210, 220, 230 and 240, all featuring a tread depth of 26/32 inch, offering flexible fitment for a range of regional truck applications.

Shaun Uys, VP of Sales and Marketing, Truck Tire RE USA, said, “Regional fleets need tyres that perform consistently across a wide range of conditions. The ContiTread HDR 5 was engineered to provide predictable handling, dependable traction and the durability fleets rely on to keep vehicles moving and costs under control.”

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Michelin’s Center for Sustainable Materials, located at the Michelin Innovation Park – Cataroux in Clermont-Ferrand, has entered into a strategic partnership with Syntetica, a leading European deeptech startup. The collaboration aims to fast-track the industrial deployment of an innovative nylon recycling process, reinforcing the circular economy.

Under the agreement, Syntetica will integrate its proprietary chemical recycling method into a secure, purpose-built industrial environment at the Center. This marks the first time that nylon-rich mixed textiles can be recycled on an industrial scale. The initiative combines more than 130 years of Michelin’s material science leadership with Syntetica’s advanced low-temperature chemical process.

The global textile industry recycles less than one percent of its waste, largely because most technical garments contain mixed synthetic fibres that defy conventional recycling methods. Syntetica’s technology directly processes such materials without prior sorting, yielding high-purity Nylon 6 and Nylon 6.6 suitable for textile, automotive and industrial uses. The pilot at the Center will initially recycle several tonnes of textile waste, with a planned scale-up towards industrial volumes by 2027.

Both organisations share the belief that industry must drive the transition to sustainability. The project aligns with Europe’s regulatory push, including mandatory textile separation from 2025 and stricter recycled content rules from 2027. Beyond nylon, the pilot represents the first step in Syntetica’s broader green chemistry platform, which aims to expand to other polymers and pioneer a new generation of circular industrial solutions.

Marco Bertone Co-Founder & CEO, Syntetica, said, “Installing our pilot at the Center for Sustainable Materials marks a decisive milestone for Syntetica. The industrial expertise and operational rigour made available by Michelin are a key lever to scale our technology to full industrialisation.”

Patrice Kéfalas Director, Center des Matériaux Durables, said, “The Center for Sustainable Materials was designed to support this kind of breakthrough technology towards industrial scale. The collaboration with Syntetica illustrates our ambition to put Michelin’s industrial experience in service of concrete solutions to accelerate materials circularity.”

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Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB (publ) has taken a significant step forward in its Nordic expansion by submitting an environmental permit application for its first wholly owned, full-scale pyrolysis plant in the region. The company has also secured an exclusive option to purchase the property where the facility is intended to be located.

Designed to process over 70,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres annually, the proposed plant represents a core pillar of Enviro’s long-term strategy focused on wholly owned facilities. The permit submission and property option mark continued execution of the company’s industrial scale-up, supported by constructive dialogue with relevant authorities and stakeholders. Preliminary feedback from regulators could arrive before the end of the second quarter of 2026.

While the property option allows Enviro to reserve the site ahead of a final investment decision, the planned establishment remains conditional on receiving the necessary environmental approvals, a final investment decision and other standard project requirements.

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