Balance of performance: GT Radial SportActive targets a changing UHP segment

摘要

Upon launching its Savero SUV tyre last September, the company behind the GT Radial brand gave a sneak preview of a new tyre scheduled for introduction in 2016. As we reported at the time, this tyre, the SportActive, takes the baton from the GT Radial Champiro UHP1 and Champiro HPY to become the flagship UHP tyre in the GT Radial portfolio. Following a limited launch in several non-seasonal markets, manufacturer GitiTire has now released an initial range of 27 SportActive sizes in all European markets. The GT Radial SportActive was officially presented to dealers and the media in mid-March. Fabio Pecci-Boriani, Giti Tire's senior product marketing manager - PCR, introduced the tyre by explaining its positioning within a European PCR replacement market where sizes only recently the preserve of top-of-the-line sports cars are now fitted to more frequently-encountered vehicles. He points to Giti Tire's own estimates, which anticipate demand for 17-inch and larger sizes growing between 2016 and 2020 at more than double the rate of the overall PCR market.