THE tyres drivers choose can have a dramatic effect on fuel efficiency and vehicle running costs, potentially saving fleets hundreds of thousands of pounds.

On-the-road trials of so-called green tyres have revealed major savings from companies that have invested in them.

Chemical giant Bayer is now fitting Michelin Energy tyres where possible after estimating it could save £120,000 per year in fuel costs and £40,000 per year in tyre costs if it switched to greener tyres.

The move follows trials in two cars over 90,000 miles - a Nissan Primera covering more than 70,000 miles and a Volvo V40 SE running for 20,000 miles, which saw its fuel consumption improve from 28.35mpg to 29.76mpg.

One Fleet News reader reported that moving to Michelin Energy tyres saw fuel economy improve from 47mpg to 50.5mpg in his Volkswagen Golf estate SE TDI PD 115. The car was supplied with Goodyear Eagle Touring Tyres, which returned 53mpg. After switching to Dunlop Sport 200 tyres, the driver said roadholding was greatly improved, but fuel economy dropped to 47mpg, prompting the switch to Energy tyres.

He said: 'I cover 40,000 miles a year, so the Michelin Energy tyres would save me 6%, or £192 on my fuel bill. Multiplied across a large fleet that could start to look like a pretty meaningful saving.'

A spokesman for Michelin said: 'Frequent tests with major fleet operators have proved the worth of Energy tyres and versions in this range have been specifically designed for fleets.'