AKRON ? Goodyear is expanding its new mobility development efforts through new collaborations with a U.S.-based connected-car technology company and a European car-rental firm specializing in electric vehicles.
The collaboration in the U.S., with San Francisco-based Voyomotive L.L.C., will allow Goodyear to pilot tire-monitoring solutions for more efficient vehicle operations, the tire maker said.
The service the companies are developing will be able to capture and analyze relevant tire-performance data and alert the driver or vehicle owner when necessary through email, text or app.
The technology can detect slow tire pressure loss and predict low pressure concerns days before the TPMS alert illuminates, Goodyear said, allowing customers to react in a more timely manner to tire pressure concerns and maintain optimal tire inflation, ultimately increasing safety and efficiency.
"This is a first-of-its-kind tire application that uses Voyomotive's advanced telematics data with Goodyear analytics to increase driving safety and fleet readiness," Voyomotive CEO Peter Yorke said.
Voyomotive claims its Voyo telematics systems go "above and beyond" any competing system in the aftermarket, providing "next-generation visibility" into a single vehicle or an entire fleet. The consumer-friendly, plug-and-play solution reads both manufacturer and generic DTCs from all vehicle controllers and adapts its hardware configuration automatically to any specific vehicle make, model and year.
" ? this tire intelligence solution ? is a demonstration of our mutual commitment to bring new digital applications to hundreds of millions of vehicles now on the road," Mr. Yorke added.
Akron-based Goodyear, which has been pursuing the development of technologies for a new mobility ecosystem for the past several years, said it sees this collaboration as an extension of its vision for the future of the tire industry and its place in it.
"The safe and efficient operation of consumer vehicles and fleets is important both for today and for the future of mobility," John Brainerd, manager of Goodyear's Akron Innovation Lab, said.
"Goodyear continues to develop and expand our portfolio of digital tire information to help users realize this goal. We are excited to collaborate with innovative companies like Voyomotive to continue to deliver connected mobility solutions."
In Europe, Goodyear has forged a "strategic relationship" with UFODrive S.A., a Capellen, Luxembourg-based digital car rental company, in an effort to improve its electric vehicle fleet performance.
The companies will pursue opportunities to integrate their complementary mobility solutions, such as Goodyear's intelligent tire-monitoring system and proactive solutions suite and UFODrive's advanced eMobility software as a service platform.
Goodyear and UFODrive will also conduct studies designed to optimize vehicle utilization and servicing to maximize energy usage and tire replacement cost savings and minimize the carbon impact of fleets.
"Working with UFODrive is a unique opportunity for us to expand the successful Goodyear Total Mobility fleet solutions from our commercial truck and bus business to the rapidly evolving EV passenger fleet landscape," Hakan Bayman, president of Goodyear's consumer business in Europe, said.
"We anticipate overall demand for shared mobility services to continue growing in the coming years, with a particular emphasis on contactless solutions."
Launched in 2019, Goodyear Total Mobility is a suite of data-driven monitoring and predictive analytics solutions designed to provide fleet operators with real-time tire performance information, including pressure and temperature.
UFODrive focuses on the premium end of the rental-car business, offering electric cars exclusively at 17 locations in eight countries across Europe. Among the vehicles it offers are the Tesla Model S or Model 3, Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-Tron or Nissan Leaf.
"Working with a tier-one mobility company like Goodyear allows UFODrive to expand on its mission to deliver a seamless transition to electric mobility for shared fleets," UFODrive CEO Aidan McClean said.
"The electric revolution is accelerating, and we are delighted to collaborate with Goodyear to pioneer unique SaaS features such as fleet utilization maximization, energy savings and optimized electric routing for fleets."


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