Nokian caught cheating on tyre tests

VeVeX

Nokian Tyres: Past test manipulation no grounds for compensation

The Finnish business daily Kauppalehti reported last week that Finnish tyre manufacturer Nokian Tyres (Nokian Renkaat) manipulated test results for years. On Monday, CEO Ari Lehtoranta apologized for past malpractices, but the company is of the opinion that no grounds for compensation to consumers exist.

In a stock exchange release published on Monday, Nokian Tyres gave its assurance that any possible malpractices related to testing have been rectified, saying the company management decided to launch a thorough investigation into the matter in the autumn of 2015.

"When test manipulation did occur, the tyre submitted for the test and the tyre received by the customer were different in terms of characteristics, not quality. A tyre has dozens of different characteristics and the company sought to improve one of them by a few per cent for a test, at the cost of another characteristic," the company said in its Monday release.

The Consumers' Union of Finland has urged Nokian Tyres to voluntarily consider compensation to consumers who purchased the company’s tyres on the basis of manipulated testing.

Nokian Tyres stated the opinion that no grounds for compensation to consumers exist, saying that consumers who have bought tyres in recent years on the basis of test results have received tyres whose characteristics match the tyres that were tested.

"We sincerely apologize for our actions in the past and want to earn the trust of the consumers and customers in the future, as well," President and CEO Ari Lehtoranta was quoted as saying.

http://yle.fi/uutiset/nokian_tyres_past_test_manipulation_no_grounds_for_compensation/8708829

I'm really not surprised at this I've always found it hard to swallow that Nokian performed so well against traditional premium brands such as Goodyear, Continental and Michelin etc.

Sam Russell

Were they fitted to VAG cars by any chance?

Special Circumstances

You'd say any reputable test would be sourcing tyres "anonymously" from some supplier rather than getting a special delivery from direct from the manufacturer.

Hmm was just about to buy 4 nokian lines.