The president and CEO of Dunlop Tires North America has sharply criticized California's new tire efficiency regulations, comparing the mandate to the state's troubled High-Speed Rail project. Darren Thomas argued that regulators must prove the effectiveness of the rules before imposing them on millions of drivers.
Thomas told The California Post that the state risks repeating the financial and logistical issues seen with the High-Speed Rail project by prioritizing environmental goals without adequate testing of real-world consequences. He urged California to demonstrate that the new tire regulations will yield a better overall outcome for residents. "A political position isn’t required to gauge the success of that endeavor," Thomas said. "Given the pressure on the California consumer, let’s get this one right and let’s do it for all the right reasons."
The regulations, approved by the California Energy Commission, target the "rolling resistance" of replacement tires, which impacts fuel and electricity consumption. The stated aim is to improve vehicle mileage and reduce emissions. However, a ban on replacement tires that do not meet the new energy-efficiency standards, set to take effect in 2029, has drawn criticism. The Tire Industry Association predicts that average tire prices could increase significantly, potentially adding more than $300 per vehicle for a set of four tires.
While Thomas acknowledged that meeting the rolling-resistance requirements is technically feasible, he expressed concern that the rules do not sufficiently account for other critical tire characteristics such as traction, weather performance, and tread life. "The issue isn’t the technology," he stated. "It’s the blanket application of one tire-design objective across an extraordinarily diverse replacement market without, in our view, sufficient real-world validation of the complete consequences."
Dunlop Tires supports energy efficiency and emission reduction, Thomas clarified, but believes the current approach is flawed. He suggested that tire pressure management could be a more cost-effective way to achieve energy efficiency goals. The company's primary means of countering the regulations, he noted, involve leveraging expertise, evidence, reason, and public input.
California's High-Speed Rail project, also promoted as an effort to reduce carbon emissions, has faced years of delays, budget overruns, and missed deadlines. Construction began in 2015, and the project has yet to reach its full scope, with costs escalating from initial projections. Republicans have criticized the project as a wasteful expenditure of taxpayer funds.
