Durable new Apollo Altrust Winter van tyre achieves ‘A’ rating for wet grip

Apollo Tyres Ltd has launched the all-new Apollo Altrust Winter van tyre, giving drivers and fleet operators the assurance of long wear life coupled with strong snow and wet-weather performance. Available in Europe from July 2026, the Apollo Altrust Winter completes the Altrust product family, joining the popular Altrust+ summer and Altrust All-Season.

Designed and developed in Europe, the new Apollo Altrust Winter comes with a wet grip rating of ‘A’ and a noise rating of ‘B’ (72 dB). It is available in 15 sizes, suitable for 15- to 17-inch rims to ensure compatibility with a wide range of vans and light commercial vehicles, including the latest Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter and IVECO Daily.

A number of features give the tyre its superior standards of grip and control in snow, ice and wet conditions. For example, the tread has an advanced ‘multi-pitch’ design where the tread blocks are sized and spaced specifically to aid true year-round use, while the sipes (the thin slits in the tread blocks) are of a three-dimensional design to help the tyre bite into the road surface. Meanwhile, the placement and dimensions of the centre and shoulder lateral grooves have been optimised for rapid water evacuation, improving wet grip and reducing the risk of aquaplaning.

Important attributes of commercial vehicle tyres are high levels of durability and low rates of wear to minimise whole life costs. For the Altrust Winter, the Apollo Tyres R&D team have created an advanced compound that features a careful balance of polymers and fillers for high abrasion resistance, reducing material loss. Reinforced shoulder tie-bars help maintain a consistent contact patch, even in demanding operating conditions. This maximises durability and delivers uniform wear across the full width of the tread to maintain strong all-weather performance throughout the life of the tyre.

To manage the acoustic signature of the Apollo Altrust Winter, the R&D team paid particular attention to pitch lengths, pitch sequence and the shoulder block bridges.

Udyan Ghai, Group Head, Marketing, at Apollo Tyres Ltd commented: “Our research and development team in Enschede, The Netherlands, spent over two years exploring the needs of van owners and users, creating a winter van tyre that delivers an optimal balance of performance and value. They focused on those attributes that matter most to fleet operators and van drivers: safety, durability and low operating costs. We know that wet-weather performance is becoming increasingly important for operators across Europe, so we are particularly pleased to see the tyre secure an A rating for wet grip.”