According to a research report, by 2026, TMPS penetration will up to 79% and 25.26 million units be installed from the installation 16.49 million units in 2019. China will be the main growth driver for the TPMS segment

Growing legal compulsions and focus on safety, comfort and fuel efficiency will drive demand for tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), says Agneta Ronceret, EMEA TPMS Manager for OEM, truck and industrial markets at ATEQ.

ATEQ is the leader in supplying a wide range of TPMS activation tools for tyre workshops and assembly lines at auto manufacturing plants across the globe. ATEQ’s TPMS range covers simple TPMS triggering tools, TPMS reset tools, complete TPMS relearn tools and more advanced TPMS diagnostic and programming tools, which can either be used autonomously or in combination with an OEM scan tool.  The company’s TPMS decoding tool can trigger or activate sensors, receive TPMS sensor information and send the TPMS sensor information to the vehicle’s ECU. The TPMS sensor information collected by the TPMS decoding tool includes the pressure within the tyre, the temperature of the TPMS sensor, the wheel rotating speed, the TPMS sensor unique ID, the battery status of the TPMS sensor, and more.

TMPS legal requirement was introduced in 2008 after Firestone recalled more than 6.5 million vehicles due to tread separations. As per the first version of the Tread Act, from 2008, all passenger vehicles and light trucks with GVWR of 10,000 lbs and less should be equipped with a TPMS. Europe, in 2012, too formulated EU TPMS regulations to make to TPMS compulsory in all new passenger vehicles from November 2014.

As of now the European Union, the United States, South Korea and China have already made TPMS mandatory in the vehicles, while other countries such as Japan, Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Malaysia are in the process to introduce TMPS legislation in the respective markets soon.

“Many countries and auto companies have a vision of zero road accidents or casualties. Followed by the US and Europe, other major markets, such as China, which is the largest automotive market, have also made TMPS mandatory. Multiple companies are also voluntarily implementing TPMS in their vehicles to optimize safety, mileage, and comfort. These trends will drive the growth for the TMPS market,” Ronceret told Tyre Trends.

According to a research report, by 2026, TMPS penetration will up to 79% and 25.26 million units be installed from the installation 16.49 million units in 2019. China will be the main growth driver for the TPMS segment.

Ronceret was appointed to the position last year to tap growing demands of the OEM, Truck and Industrial segments for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australia and New Zealand regions. “There are lots of new activities that are happening in the OEM, Truck and Industrial segments. We have different objects for different segments. As the market grows and technology changes, ATEQ will bring innovations to increase our presence in the OEM, Truck and Industrial markets,” Ronceret said.

Air inflation

Tyres are the only component of the vehicle that touches the road. From safety and comfort and mileage largely depend on the air inflation in the tyres. Generally, a tyre naturally loses 0.2 atmospheres (2.9 PSI) every three months, and a slow puncture precedes 85% of all tyre blasts. Inappropriate tyre cause to the instability of the vehicle, and less mileage and the total life of tyres.

According to a study, around 30% of underinflated tyres increase fuel consumption by 5%. NHTSA, US EPA and US GAO studies say that in the US alone the overall deterioration in fuel economy due to underinflated tyres is 3.3% and the average annual wasted fuel is between 1.2 and 2.8 billion gallons. Over 2 billion gallons of fuel are wasted in Europe annually due to underinflation, as per Bridgestone Europe. At the same time, tyre life reduces by 50% if it runs at 20% under-inflation.

A TPMS updates the driver on air pressure conditions of the tyres. Inside the tyre, behind the valve, sensors measure pressure and temperature all the time, and as soon as the tyre pressure starts to drop, the sensors begin omitting alert signals to the ECU. 

There are two types of TPMS sensors, direct and indirect. Using the TMPS inside the wheel, the direct TPMS sensor, mounted on the wheels or tyre, reports accurate data on tyre pressure to the ECU. The direct TPMS systems are used European, the US and Asian markets.

Based on the ABS sensors, the in-direct TPMS system analyses the acceleration of the tyre and if the dimension of the tyre changes, so will the acceleration of the tyres. The ABS sensors notice the changes in the dimension of tyres and indicate the same. “The direct the TPMS is more precise as it gives you real-time data on pressure, whereas the ABS sensors only give you an indication,” said Ronceret.

Today the company operates in the three TMPS segments- Workshop Tools, Truck TPMS and Industrial TPMS.

ATEQ workshop tools are used in OEM garages and vehicle workshops for activating, diagnosing, programming and fitting TPMS valves and sensors. The workshop tools also help to replace the broken sensors in the tyre and even programme the sensors. “There are companies that make universal sensors, so ATEQ TPMS tools help to write programmes for those sensors. The tools also help to pair the sensors with the ECU,” explained Ronceret.

Revenue-wise, the workshop tool is segment is the largest business for ATEQ.  “For the workshop tools, we have to be evolutive. A bigger challenge for the company is to have the compatible tools for the existing and future vehicles,” said Ronceret.

The industrial tools, fitted at one place, are used in the vehicle production line to check whether tyres are accurately inflated before mounting on the vehicles.

ATEQ has a comprehensive range of TPMS control equipment for small to large manufacturing. On the assembly lines, its TPMS test antennas are key for the installation of TPMS sensors and the pairing of TPMS sensors with the vehicle’s ECU. The company supplies customized TPMS tools test TPMS sensors on OEM light vehicle and truck production lines, as well as wheel and tyre assembly lines, laboratories and test benches all over the world.

In trucks, a 10 PSI, less air pressure increases, rolling resistance by 2%, while industry surveys show that consistent proper tyre inflation in truck tyres would increase fleet wear by 17%.  Today, understanding the importance of the right tyre pressure, now many fleet companies have installed TPMS systems to improve the total cost of ownership. For the European truck industry, the company provides the ATEQ VT TRUCK tool, which checks tyre pressure and sensor batteries to prevent under-inflation and reduce vehicle downtime due to tyre blowouts. The tool is compatible with most European truck and bus TPMS sensors and benefits from a continually growing vehicle coverage, thanks to frequent database updates,

The company gets data from all OEMs to make sure it is updated with the times. “We have all data since we work with OEMs since the integration at the production lines to the workshops. It is also essential of them to we can serve them all the times.” The company maintains confidentiality on the secured data. The tools deal with the information collected from sensors but do not store them.

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As commercial vehicle operators face mounting pressure from regulations, rising costs and the shift to electric power, Webfleet, a subsidiary of Bridgestone, is focusing on turning ever-growing volumes of vehicle data into practical recommendations that improve performance and ease the daily burden on fleet managers.

Founded in Leipzig in 1999 as one of the world’s first web-based fleet management platforms, Webfleet has grown from a pioneering software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-up to Europe’s leading solution and a core part of Bridgestone’s global offering. Today it serves drivers across more than 180 countries with AI-powered insights, electric-vehicle tools and sustainability data that turn complex operations into clearer, more efficient decisions.

In an exclusive interaction with Tyre Trends, Marc Notenboom, Director of Product Management at Webfleet, shares how the company has watched the fleet-management sector evolve over more than a quarter of a century. Interestingly, it was just last year the company marked its 25th anniversary.

From its inception, Webfleet has seen the volume of available data explode, yet the real challenge remains converting that information into meaningful guidance.

“Fleets give you more data but not more insights, which continues to be a challenge. Because of new regulations, new sensors, increasing competition and customer demands, we end up generating more data. We also have access to more data, which is growing exponentially. And then comes the real question, how do you make sense of that data?” Notenboom observed.

Marc Notenboom, Director of Product Management, Webfleet

Webfleet obtains its information through black-box devices installed in vehicles, sensors or direct connections to original-equipment manufacturers. This includes telematics, GPS, video, driver behaviour and vehicle diagnostics, among others. The company then processes that stream to deliver fleet-management services.

The next step, he explained, is moving beyond retrospective analysis. “Insights tell you what happened and why it happened, perhaps, but not what you need to do to improve your performance. That is what we are doing now with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). For example, we analyse data, see if patterns are different or you have anomalies in your data to predict what is happening or what is going wrong. And then we also use AI to analyse our data to see how you are performing, for instance, against competition. And then give customers suggestions on how to improve on certain topics like fuel consumption or driver safety,” he said.

The industry, in Webfleet’s view, is therefore evolving from raw data collection towards insights, recommendations and concrete actions.

SHARED PRESSURES ACROSS DIVERSE FLEETS

Webfleet serves a wide spectrum of customers, from large transport and logistics operators to small fleets of one or two vehicles, service-and-maintenance businesses and last-mile delivery companies.

Each customer faces distinct operational issues, yet common themes emerge. “What they all have in common is that the amount of data and the pressure to enhance their performance is increasing a lot. And then there is the regulatory compliance pressures as well,” said Notenboom.

Performance, in this context, covers delivery times, cost per kilometre, driver wages, safety and fuel consumption – metrics that matter differently according to the sector, but all that demand continuous improvement.

One of Europe’s most persistent difficulties is the shortage of skilled drivers, which has led to greater reliance on migrant workers whose experience of road conditions may vary widely between countries.

Webfleet addresses part of this challenge through tools such as OptiDrive, which shows fleet managers how individual drivers perform on fuel use and safety. Language barriers are tackled with automatic translation features built into the driver’s work app or tablet.

“They can interact with their fleet manager in their own language, and the fleet manager can also interact back in their own language,” explained Notenboom. The same interface delivers active coaching: if a driver exceeds the speed limit, for example, an immediate warning appears. These software-based interventions help maintain standards without requiring constant direct supervision.

MEASURABLE GAINS AND EV TRANSITION

Notenboom agrees that customers understandably scrutinise the return on any additional technology cost. He reported that Webfleet users typically achieve efficiency improvements of up to 15 percent, though results depend heavily on the starting point. This ranges from fuel savings, faster turnaround, downtime reduction or improved driver behaviour, among others.

“If a company is already really good at saving fuel, then adding tools and driver coaching and technology might not change a lot. At the same time, even if it’s a small improvement, especially with the high fuel prices today, it could already translate to a lot of savings,” averred Notenboom.

The arrival of electric trucks introduces a fresh set of complexities. Research indicates that driver behaviour exerts an even greater influence on energy consumption in electric vehicles than in conventional combustion models. Smooth operation becomes critical to range, while decisions about when and where to charge add further layers of planning. Webfleet supports the transition by helping managers determine the right vehicle for each duty cycle.

“If you do long-distance transport, electric trucks are perhaps not the best option. But if you do inner-city deliveries, then electric trucks become an interesting option. And trying to find out where the optimum is, when to use Internal Combustion Engine-vehicles, where to use electric vehicles, that is also a part where we can help the fleet manager to make that decision,” he said.

On the technology package itself, every Webfleet customer receives the software platform. Hardware can be selected according to need, or in some cases, dispensed with entirely through the OEM.connect service (access vehicle data directly from OEMs via APIs), without installing extra hardware that draws data directly from the vehicle manufacturer.

“A number of customers are preferring to use OEM.connect. So that is a solution where we don’t install hardware but take the data directly from the OEM offerings,” he explained. On the other hand, where original-equipment data fall short, Webfleet’s own devices remain available.

PRIVACY, BENCHMARKING AND THE ROAD AHEAD

Growing data volumes inevitably raise questions of privacy and regulatory compliance. Webfleet adheres strictly to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – a strict European Union (EU) law that protects information privacy and data rights for individuals in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) – requirements.

Certain categories of information can be processed only with explicit customer permission, and for benchmarking purposes, the company anonymises data so that individual vehicles or fleets cannot be identified.

A recent example is Webfleet’s Commercial Trip Monitor, which aggregates anonymised information across the entire customer base to generate comparative insights.

Looking three to five years ahead, Notenboom identified three principal challenges for the commercial-vehicle industry: the practical difficulties of electrification, the continuing shortage of drivers (with autonomous vehicles potentially addressing certain use cases over a longer horizon) and relentless competitive pressure to deliver higher quality service at lower cost.

He regards these same pressures as sources of opportunity for those able to convert them into advantage.

Interestingly, he shared that Webfleet itself continues to evaluate new markets beyond its established presence in Europe, South Africa, South America and Australia. Bridgestone’s ownership of the US-focused Azuga platform complements the portfolio, while Asia-Pacific, including India, remains under active review even if no immediate plans have been confirmed.

As Notenboom puts it, the goal is not to simply collect more information but to translate that information into clearer decisions that keep vehicles productive, drivers safer and costs under control – regardless of whether the powertrain is diesel or electric.

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Vaculug has released VMS Pro Max, the next generation of its fleet management application. The product, developed over a three-year period, pairs a redesigned interface with AI-enhanced software intended to make commercial fleet management faster and more intelligent. The app is now available for download through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

The upgraded platform offers clear, real-time access to tyre and vehicle data, accelerates background report uploads to reduce driver time and allows measuring tools to be connected for automatic tread depth capture. It also incorporates an embedded VAN Driver Guide and can instantly flag vehicles left uninspected across 30, 60 or 90 days. Existing users must sync all pending inspections and confirm cloud upload before updating to prevent data loss.

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The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. and dotData, Inc. have announced joint development an AI agent to help engineers form hypotheses, interpret findings and make decisions in manufacturing R&D. Before full deployment, the initiative will validate the agent's required capabilities and technical feasibility.

The solution combines technical documents such as design specifications and experimental reports with engineers' accumulated expertise and features extracted from measurement data via dotData's Signal Intelligence technology. It will provide insights tailored to each project's objectives, circumstances and constraints.

The agent is not meant to produce a single correct answer. Operating in a human-in-the-loop framework where engineers retain decision-making authority, it will present multiple possibilities, perspectives and risks to broaden thinking and support professional development.

Manufacturing R&D generates diverse data through experiments, simulations, production and evaluation. Developing hypotheses requires specialised knowledge and context. Since new technology R&D rarely has one predetermined answer, abductive reasoning plays a key role. AI can add value by using data and organisational knowledge to widen engineers' perspectives rather than replace judgment.

The agent will explore measurement and experimental data patterns beyond factors engineers previously identified, combining quantitative insights with design documents and expert knowledge to reveal difficult-to-spot relationships. It will offer input from materials, design, analysis, production and evaluation perspectives, challenge existing hypotheses and raise questions about alternative interpretations and conditions. Engineers will then test hypotheses and feed results back into further dialogue, guiding Signal Intelligence processes so non-specialists can explore data features as needed.

Yokohama Rubber has advanced HAICoLab since 2020, using dotData as a foundational technology in tyre design and rubber mixing. This joint development expands those efforts, with engineers interpreting and evaluating the agent's suggestions using their own expertise rather than accepting them unquestioningly. The companies aim to transform R&D processes while strengthening engineers' creativity and judgment, establishing a new model for human-AI collaboration in manufacturing R&D.

Motoji Fujita, Head of Research & Advanced Development Division, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., said, “Since 2020, we have conducted research and development under the HAICoLab framework, drawing on the complementary strengths of people and AI to create a collaborative environment. We believe AI agents will give engineers access to perspectives beyond their own experience and enable them to evaluate hypotheses from multiple angles. Through this development initiative, we aim to advance our R&D capabilities while supporting the continued growth of our engineers.”

Ryohei Fujimaki, CEO, dotData, Inc., said, “Success in manufacturing R&D depends heavily on an organisation’s ability to connect its proprietary data and knowledge with AI. The quantitative context generated from data through automated Signal Intelligence provides a foundation for AI agents to engage engineers in practical, data-driven discussions. Together with Yokohama Rubber, which has many years of experience in advanced data utilisation, we intend to establish standards for using AI in highly specialised business domains.”

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Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (Europe), a Bridgestone Corporation subsidiary, has announced the deployment of its ‘easytrack’ tyre management system at SR Technics Spain SAU, the tyre and wheel maintenance hub of global maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) provider SR Technics. The scalable digital platform is accessible on desktop and mobile devices.

Designed for airlines and MROs, ‘easytrack’ manages inbound and outbound tyre and wheel flows across single- or multi-site operations. It delivers real-time identification, tracking and documentation throughout each asset’s lifecycle. The project follows the solution’s first airline implementation in 2025, becoming its second customer rollout and first MRO application.

MRO providers handle large tyre and wheel volumes for multiple airlines, complicating operations. ‘easytrack’ simplifies asset management and improves traceability, accuracy, safety and productivity. At SR Technics Spain SAU, it digitalised paper-based processes, cutting processing time by 45 percent, reducing data-entry and identification errors and improving flow management across Palma de Mallorca and Madrid.

From left: David Sautois, ‘easytrack’ Product Manager, Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (Europe) S.A.; Antonio Colella, General Manager, SR Technics Spain SAU; Jean-Philippe Minet, Managing Director, Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (Europe) S.A.; Eugenie Baradzina, Commercial Director, SR Technics Spain SAU.

The results stem from a Bridgestone and SR Technics Spain SAU co-creation initiative built on long-standing partnership. ‘easytrack’ was adapted to support tyre and wheel combinations for the hub’s wheel and brake operations. Bridgestone’s expansion of airline and MRO solutions aligns with its E8 Commitment, emphasising efficiency and ecology.

Antonio Colella, General Manager, SR Technics Spain SAU, said, "The successful implementation of easytrack is a significant achievement for SR Technics Spain SAU and our teams in Mallorca and Madrid. From the very beginning, the collaboration with Bridgestone was built on trust, openness and a shared vision for innovation. Together, we have developed a solution that not only improves efficiency and traceability but also creates lasting value for our operations. We are proud to be the first MRO in the world to adopt this technology and look forward to continuing this journey with Bridgestone Corporation.”

Jean-Philippe Minet, Managing Director, Bridgestone Aircraft Tire Europe, said, “I’d like to thank SR Technics for their trust and another fruitful collaboration with Bridgestone. What the teams have jointly achieved is remarkable: co-creating through efficient teamwork and customising the Bridgestone easytrack application to digitise SR Technics tyre and wheel tracking operations. This is a brilliant example of how Bridgestone amplifies the value created at our partners.”

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