Bridgestone is now producing a tire with 55% recycled and renewable materials, to be used on the Audi E-Tron GT, the automaker's current flagship performance EV.
The tire in question is a variant of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport summer performance tire, in this case tailored specifically to the E-Tron GT, according Bridgestone. The company noted it received an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) for the tire's recycled and renewable-material content.
2025 Audi E-Tron GT
The specific breakdown is 35% renewable material, including natural rubber and bio-attributed polymers, and 20% recycled materials, including ground rubber and carbon black recovered from used tires, as well as rice husks and ash silica, according to Bridgestone. The tire will also be manufactured at a plant in Rome powered by renewable energy, the company adds.
Bridgestone aims to achieve carbon neutrality and use 100% sustainable materials in its tires by 2050. The company previously made small batches of IndyCar race tires with natural rubber from an American southwest crop called guayule, but this marks the first manifestation of its sustainability push in mass-produced tires for road cars.
Firestone Firehawk IndyCar race tires made with guayule rubber
With no "tailpipe" emissions to speak of, emissions from the manufacturing of tires and other components make up a bigger part of EVs' carbon footprint. That's led other tire makers and automakers, such as Michelin and Hyundai, to look at ways of making EV tires more environmentally friendly.
Goodyear in 2022 unveiled a prototype tire made from 70% sustainable materials, although it wasn't commercially available. The following year it revealed greener tires for the Tesla Model 3 made with carbon black that didn't require the combustion of fossil fuels to generate.
