On 26 August, the German tyre maker presented a concept tyre developed for the EU project ZEvRA, which aims to improve circular economy across the electric vehicle value chain. Continental says it is the only tyre manufacturer among the 28 project partners.
The concept contains around 43 per cent recycled materials: steel, rubber from end-of-life tyres, polyester yarn made from PET bottles and recovered industrial carbon black. In total, more than 80 per cent of the materials come from recycled, renewable or mass-balance-certified sources, according to Continental.
Top marks where EVs need them most
For an electric car, rolling resistance is not a footnote. It is one of the factors that quietly eats into range, especially when the car is fully loaded for a holiday. The concept tyre achieves the best rating on the EU tyre label for rolling resistance, Continental says. That matters because lower rolling resistance means less energy drawn from the battery for every kilometre.
Continental has not published an exact percentage improvement, so I will not put a false promise on it. But the arithmetic matters: if a low-rolling-resistance tyre trims consumption by just 5 per cent on a family EV that normally uses 16 kWh/100 km, that is 0.8 kWh saved per 100 km. Over 15,000 km — a normal year for many European families — that works out to 120 kWh. At a home electricity price of €0.30 per kWh, that is about €36 a year, and more if you often charge on public AC or rapid chargers.
We wrote earlier about how fast charging and efficiency interact; tyres belong in the same conversation. If you want to see what even a few per cent lower consumption could mean for your household budget, try our charging cost calculator.
The catch: not a tyre you can buy yet
This is a concept, not a production model. Continental names three hurdles: the availability of high-quality recycled materials, the scalability of the processes, and missing standardised regulatory definitions. In plain English: recycling enough consistent material to make millions of tyres a year is a very different job from building one show tyre.
Still, the direction is clear. Continental says the share of renewable and recycled production materials across its tyre portfolio was 28 per cent in 2025 and should reach at least 40 per cent by 2030. That is an industrial target, not a marketing promise, and it will need buyers, regulators and recyclers to align.
What this means for you
There is no buying decision to make today. But if you drive an EV in a European city or on the school run, this project matters for two reasons. First, better rolling resistance can stretch range without a bigger battery — exactly the kind of efficiency gain that keeps family EVs practical and affordable. Second, more EVs on the road means more waste tyres later, so closing the loop is not optional.
The growth is real: our own data for July showed electric cars took almost exactly a quarter of new-car sales in Europe. Circular-economy projects are stacking up across the EU — we recently looked at an unusual V2G test in Skellefteå where old EV batteries heat a sauna.
Until a recycled Continental tyre reaches the shelf, the practical takeaway is simple: check the rolling-resistance class next time you replace tyres, and keep them inflated to the pressure recommended for a loaded car. The label is not a warranty of exact kilometres, but it is one of the few tools we have to compare efficiency before we buy.
Full details are available in the Continental press release.
Source: https://www.electrive.com/2026/08/26/continental-develops-recycled-tyres-for-electric-vehicles/
