Commission Regulation (EU) No 1235/2011
of 29 November 2011
amending Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the wet grip grading of tyres, the measurement of rolling resistance and the verification procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters, and in particular Article 11(a) and (c) thereof,
OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 46.
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council aims at establishing a framework for the provision of harmonised information on tyre parameters through labelling, allowing end-users to make an informed choice when purchasing tyres.
(2) The rolling resistance of tyres determines their fuel efficiency grading. Measurement of rolling resistance must be reproducible; tests on the same tyres in different laboratories must produce the same results in order to ensure a fair comparison between tyres from different suppliers. In addition, a good reproducibility of testing results prevents market surveillance authorities from obtaining different results from those of the suppliers when testing the same tyres.
(3) A procedure for the alignment of test laboratories with regard to the measurement of rolling resistance would improve the reproducibility of the testing results.
(4) Since a suitable harmonised testing method of grip on wet roads has been developed at ISO level, a wet grip grading of C2 and C3 tyres should now be introduced, in accordance with Article 11 (a) of Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009.
(5) The clarity of the conformity verification procedure set out in Annex IV of Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 should be improved by introducing thresholds according to which the declared values used for the labelling requirements are considered to be in compliance with that Regulation.
(6) Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: