A 200 euro bonus for the purchase of highly efficient tires, capable of reducing fuel consumption and pollution and increasing safety. This is the proposal that came from the parliamentarians of Lega, Forza Italia and Movimento 5 Stelle through three “twin” amendments aimed at encouraging the purchase of tires with class A or B labeling, which identify the models with lower rolling resistance and less space for braking.
The amendments should be brought together in a single document to be then included in the Energy Decree, as part of the measures in favor of motorists “in terms of safety and reduction of harmful emissions, as well as containment of the increase in the cost of fuels”, as stated in reads in the draft. With the approval, Italy would also implement the provisions of the European regulation 2020/740, which specifies how the use of higher grading tires should be favored thanks also to incentives provided by each European country.
What is the tire bonus and who can benefit from it
The tire bonus provides for the payment of a 200 euro voucher to be spent directly by the seller for the purchase and assembly of four C1 class tires with class A or B labeling both in relation to rolling and wet grip. .
These would be non-transferable vouchers that the dealer or tire dealer can collect, discounting them from the price of the tire train, and then request a refund within a maximum of 120 days from the date of issue of the invoice or receipt. The measure would remain in effect until December 31, 2022.
The conditional remains a must because it has yet to be approved and then converted, but the first draft speaks of an investment of 20 million euros through the establishment of a special fund by the Ministry of Economic Development. The tire bonus can be requested by everyone, regardless of the ISEE, but it will be paid until the funds are exhausted and cannot be sold to third parties nor will it be valid as taxable income: by making a quick calculation, about 100,000 people should be able to benefit from it, and not it is still clear whether the applications will be accepted “by exclusion”, as happened for other forms of incentives.
Class A and B tires: the identikit
As mentioned, the bonus can only be used for the purchase of class C1 tires with class A or B labeling. But how to identify them? The first thing to say is that from 1 May 2021 the new tire energy label came into force, which indicates not only the rolling resistance classes, wet grip and noise, but also grip on snow and on ice, and which identifies the highest efficiency in class A and the lowest in E. The new label also features a QR code that allows direct access to the European product database called the “European Product Registry for Energy Labeling” (EPREL) to provide all the information on the characteristics of the tires.
To use the tire bonus, the purchase is therefore bound to tires that show class A or B, and therefore the maximum efficiency, when it comes to rolling resistance (the higher the class, the lower the fuel consumption). and wet grip (the higher the class, the shorter the braking distance, the greater the safety).
The objective of the proposal is to reduce consumption and increase the safety of the Italian car fleet, and to include it in the energy law decree, currently under discussion in the Chamber to be converted into law by next 30 April. Once this step has been passed, the tire bonus would come into force through an implementation decree signed by Mise, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility.
The hope is that it will become a reality in time for the tire change, that is the transition from the winter tire train to the summer one, scheduled between April 15 and May 15, and thus amortize the costs that motorists have to bear.