This Pirelli Tire Tech Could Make Them Illegal To Sell In The US

Pirelli, the well-known Italian tire maker, has a new technology on the way that could run afoul of United States regulators. The new tech is called “Cyber Tyre” and, according to Pirelli is “first system based on sensorized tyres in the world to gather vital data and communicate this in real-time to the car. For a safer, tailor-made top driving experience with high performance levels.” It consists of a suite of sensors built into the Pirelli P-Zero line of performance tires. 

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The data gathered, including pressure, temperature, and speed ratings, has a number of useful applications if you want to take a more granular approach to performance driving, or you want to see how you can shave a few seconds off your lap time. The first car to implement this technology as standard equipment overseas is the McLaren Artura. More data while driving, especially data that’s geared towards performance driving, is never a bad thing, but the origin of the tech has Stateside regulators sounding alarms. According to a report from Reuters, it’s the investment of Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned company, that raised concerns.

Reuters notes that Sinochem has a 37% stake in Pirelli, making it the largest shareholder. Specifically, The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security is concerned about data collection habits of Sinochem. In order to bring the technology to cars sold in the United States, Pirelli might need to get specialized permission. One McLaren sports car with the technology isn’t going to make much of a difference to anyone’s bottom line, but expanding the technology to more passenger cars and barring it entry to the States could put Pirelli in a tough spot. As of now, no decisions have been made. 

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As with most issues, there are a few sides to the Cyber Tyre problem. One side could be seen as overregulation of potentially competitive technology. The other side could see opening the sales to the United States as a potential breach of security, given the fact that Sinochem is owned and operated by The People’s Republic of China.