Bridgestone launched the new M729II ECO tyre, the successor to two of its benchmark products: the wear life champion M729, and the fuel saving Ecopia M749.

The M729II ECO will officially go on sale from 1 March through Bridgestone’s wide network of New Zealand truck stores.

According to Bridgestone, through the development and adoption of new compound technologies, the company has been successful in bolstering the core strengths of both predecessor tyres in the M729II ECO – resulting in a long-lasting, durable drive tyre with a lower rolling resistance to contribute to fuel savings and CO₂ emission reduction.

“We are excited by the launch of the M729II ECO because it highlights how New Zealand transport operators can have the best of both worlds when it comes to durability, drive traction performance and sustainable benefits,” said John Staples, Bridgestone director of New Zealand business.

“The M729II ECO is a key product for us because it addresses two of the industry’s core needs through one solution, without compromising on capabilities,” he said.

“It provides operators with the durable, long-lasting tyre they demand, that also supports their targets for fuel saving and reduced CO₂ emissions.”

Bridgestone has invested in new technologies for its truck and bus products to achieve a long-lasting, durable compound with a lower rolling resistance. Through the new compound development, the M729II ECO has achieved a 20% lower rolling resistance than the M729 – making it comparable to Bridgestone’s benchmark Ecopia M749 tyre without a compromise on drive traction performance.

By utilising the trusted and durable M729 tread pattern with the new compound technology, the new generation M729II ECO has reset the benchmark for durability, with up to 10% better wear life than its predecessor. As a result, the M729II ECO boasts the benefits of Bridgestone’s low rolling resistance products: fuel savings, and reduced CO₂emissions – all without the compromise of traction performance or wear life.

“The launch of the M729II ECO is a demonstration of Bridgestone’s commitment to the New Zealand transport industry,” Staples said.

“We’ve taken the time to understand what operators need in their drive tyres and enhanced our offering based on real world feedback and testing.

“By focusing on the strengths of our two industry leading products, the long lasting M729, and the fuel saving Ecopia M749, we’ve developed a tyre that delivers on both value propositions in the M729II ECO,” he said.

“It has allowed us to rationalise our line up and make it simpler and more efficient for fleet operators.”

The M729II ECO enters the market following more than 1 million kilometres of evaluation through its development, overseen by Bridgestone’s New Zealand based Technical Field Services team.

Prior to its sign off for launch, Bridgestone tested the M729II ECO in real world conditions by utilising a range of customers across highway/regional applications, as well as mild on/off road applications.

“We set ambitious targets for the M729II ECO, and our extensive testing and evaluation programme saw all of these exceeded,” said Bridgestone New Zealand technical field services manager, Derek Hall-Jones.

“Working closely with our counterparts in the Bridgestone China Asia Pacific Technical Centre, we were able to deliver a drive tyre that met the needs of the New Zealand market from a performance point of view, with additional benefits of fuel savings and reduced emissions,” he said.

“Anecdotal feedback from operators is that the M729II ECO delivers either equal or better performance than its predecessors across wear life, traction, worn appearance, cut/chip resistance, and wet braking performance.

“Data that we collected from more than 1 million kilometres of testing highlights the success of this development, and we look forward to our customers realising the benefits of the M729II ECO for years to come.”

The development of the Bridgestone M729II ECO is also in line with the values of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, which was launched last year.

The Bridgestone E8 Commitment is the company’s global platform for value co-creation towards a more sustainable future, integrating purpose and process to address environmental and social factors through eight values: energy, ecology, efficiency, extension, economy, emotion, ease and empowerment.

M729II ECO is in line with the values of energy, supporting the realisation of a carbon neutral society, ecology, by advancing sustainable tyre solutions, economy, through the maximisation of business operations, and efficiency, through the maximisation of productivity.

“The launch of the Bridgestone M729II ECO highlights how we collaborate with the industry and our customers to add value to their business through quality products and sustainable solutions,” Staples said.

“This is a clear demonstration of how the Bridgestone E8 Commitment is delivering value to customers, advancing the industry, and collectively we are co-creating value towards a sustainable future.”