Nokian Launches the Powerproof E, Its New Summer Tyre for Electric Cars

Nokian adds an efficiency tyre to the Powerproof range for 2027

Nokian has announced the Powerproof E, a premium summer tyre for Central and Southern Europe that goes on sale for the 2027 summer season. It is built at the company's plant in Oradea, Romania, and the headline is the EU tyre label: Nokian say every size in the range is rated A for rolling resistance, A for wet grip and A for external rolling noise, at 67 dB. The sidewall carries an Electric Fit marking alongside Aramid Sidewalls, SilentDrive and Ultra Low Rolling Resistance.

Positioning

Despite the shared name, the Powerproof E is not a replacement for the Powerproof 2, which stays in the range as Nokian's performance summer tyre. The E is the low-drag option, and part of the size list makes the target clear. 195/55 R18 and 195/60 R18 are narrow, tall fitments that exist almost entirely for electric cars, and 205/55 R19 and 215/50 R19 follow the same logic, though they sit alongside conventional fitments running up to 255/45 R20. Nokian describe the tyre as suitable for combustion, hybrid and electric cars alike, but the narrow sizes, the sidewall marking and their own "made for range" line all point in one direction.

Nokian's own range chart for 2026/2027 gives the region three summer patterns: the Powerproof 2 for performance, the new Wetproof 2 for wet-weather comfort, and the Powerproof E for efficiency.

The gap between the two new tyres shows up on the label. Nokian quote the Wetproof 2 at A for wet grip across its range, but B and C for rolling resistance and A or B for noise depending on size. The Powerproof E is quoted at A on all three, in every size. Same brand, same season, same launch year, and the E is the one built around drag.

Key technical points

• Nokian group the design under what they call Motion Control Technology, and describe it as three parts working together: an "Energy Flow Tread" for rolling resistance and water clearance, a "Precision Grip Compound" balancing wet grip, braking and wear, and a "Stability Support Core" for stability and load distribution.
• The company says recycled and renewable materials account for 40.9 to 42.8 per cent of the tyre's material content depending on size, including rice husk ash, recycled carbon black and recycled steel.
• Production is at Oradea, which Nokian say has operated with zero direct (Scope 1) CO2 emissions on 100 per cent renewable energy since it opened in 2024, verified annually by an external partner.

The most concrete engineering claim is about the shape of the tyre rather than the compound in it. Nokian say the Powerproof E runs a deliberately larger, optimised overall diameter, the argument being that a bigger tyre deforms less as it rolls and less deformation means less energy lost as heat. They pair that with what they call a range-optimised steel belt, tuned for stiffness size by size to cut movement and heat build-up inside the casing. It is also the tidiest explanation for those unusual 195/55 R18 and 195/60 R18 fitments: narrow for drag, tall for diameter.

Two of the construction features are quoted with different coverage, which is worth reading carefully. Aramid Strong Sidewall construction, which Nokian say protects against impacts and cuts, is fitted from 17 inches upwards, so the single 16 inch size goes without it.

SilentDrive, the sound-absorbing foam bonded to the inside of the tread to damp cavity noise, is narrower still: Nokian describe it only as offered on a limited selection of Powerproof E sizes, and have not yet said which. It is worth separating from the label's A for external noise, which is a drive-by measurement of the noise the tyre makes outside the car. The foam addresses what the driver hears inside it, and no label grade covers that.

The label claim, in context

An A rating on all three label measures across a whole range is worth pausing on, because rolling resistance and wet grip normally pull against each other. Of the 832 summer patterns on this site with five or more sizes registered in the EU's EPREL database, exactly one currently manages A for rolling resistance and A for wet grip on every registered size: the Continental UltraContact NXT, itself a high recycled content tyre.

That precedent is a useful one, because the UltraContact NXT has since been tested and did well. It finished first of seven in the 2025 Motor low rolling resistance test, first of six in the 2025 auto motor und sport sustainability test, and second of ten in the 2026 autozurnal eco summer test. An A/A label does not have to mean a compromised tyre.

Nokian's own recent summer record is more mixed. The Powerproof 2 finished sixth of ten in the 2026 ACE summer test, seventh of eight in the 2026 Auto Express summer test, and eleventh of twenty in the 2026 Auto Bild summer test. That is a different tyre with a different brief, but it is the nearest current benchmark for a Nokian summer tyre in Europe.

Sizes and availability

Nokian list 19 sizes at launch, every one of them extra load, spanning 16 to 20 inch wheels and 195 to 255 section widths:

• 16 inch: 205/55 R16 94V
• 17 inch: 225/45 R17 94Y
• 18 inch: 195/55 R18 93H, 195/60 R18 96H, 215/55 R18 99V, 225/50 R18 99W, 235/45 R18 98Y, 235/55 R18 104V, 235/60 R18 107W
• 19 inch: 205/55 R19 97V, 215/50 R19 97V, 235/50 R19 103V, 235/55 R19 105W, 245/45 R19 102Y, 255/45 R19 104Y, 255/50 R19 107Y, 255/55 R19 111Y
• 20 inch: 235/50 R20 104W, 255/45 R20 105Y

Every size is quoted at A for rolling resistance, A for wet grip and A for external noise at 67 dB, and Nokian describe the whole range as EV-ready. On sale for the 2027 summer season, in the Central and Southern European market.

What it means for drivers

The gap the Powerproof E is aimed at is a real one. Electric car owners are asked to choose between range and wet safety more often than they should be, and a size list that includes actual EV fitments rather than only adapting a combustion range is worth something on its own.

The caveats are the usual ones. Label grades are single measurements taken in controlled conditions, and they say nothing about handling, aquaplaning resistance, wear rate, or how a tyre behaves once it is half worn. Everything Nokian claim for the compound and the construction is the company's own account, and no independent test has run this tyre yet. We will report on how the claims hold up once the Powerproof E is available to test.