Volkswagen Concept Vehicle Mission Efficiency Sets World Record on Continental Tires
- Tires a key component in achieving world record
- Rolling resistance around 25 percent below threshold for EU tire label’s highest class A rating
- Record-breaking drive from Wolfsburg to Vienna: consumption of just 7.51 kWh per 100 km including charging losses, or 6.89 kWh per 100 km excluding charging losses
- Continental also supplies original equipment tires for ID. Polo production model
Hanover, Germany, October 15, 2026. Continental made a decisive contribution to the world record set by Volkswagen’s Mission Efficiency concept vehicle with a specially developed concept tire. During the record-breaking drive, the world’s most efficient near-production electric vehicle consumed just 7.51 kilowatt-hours of electricity per 100 kilometers including charging losses, or 6.89 kWh per 100 km excluding charging losses. The record was officially certified by RID – Rekord-Institut für Deutschland on August 24, 2026, following a 1,278.36-kilometer journey from Wolfsburg to Vienna under real-world conditions. The trip required only one charging stop and concluded with 164 kilometers of remaining range. Continental’s concept tire achieves a rolling resistance of 4.9 kilograms per metric ton, around 25 percent below the threshold for the EU tire label’s highest class A rating. Since around 20 percent of an electric vehicle’s propulsion energy is used to overcome tire rolling resistance, this is a key factor in increasing vehicle range.
“The record shows that increasing the range of electric cars does not necessarily require larger batteries. Significant opportunities lie in the successful interaction of all vehicle components. Tires make a crucial contribution,” says Dr. Christian Strübel, Continental’s expert in rolling resistance for passenger-car tires. “Together with Volkswagen, we’ve demonstrated what’s possible when vehicle, aerodynamics and tire development are aligned from the very beginning.”
Rolling resistance: a key factor in driving range
Tires play a central role in the efficiency of electric vehicles. Their properties have a direct effect on energy consumption and therefore on the range achieved on a single battery charge. This is due to rolling resistance. With every revolution, the tire deforms where it contacts the road surface. This deformation consumes energy that would otherwise be available for propulsion. Around 20 percent of an electric vehicle’s battery energy is used just to overcome this resistance. In other words, the lower the rolling resistance, the greater the range from the same battery charge.
This is precisely where Continental focuses its tire development. The concept tire is based on the EcoContact 7, which already offers exceptionally low rolling resistance as a production tire. For the record-breaking drive, the tire was modified according to Volkswagen’s specifications. The result is a tire that deforms even less as it rolls, further reducing energy consumption and increasing the range per battery charge.
What sets the record-breaking tire apart
Two components are particularly important for achieving low rolling resistance. First, the sidewall follows the same design principle used in the EcoContact 7 production tire, providing stability without increasing rolling resistance. Second, the tread compound has been specially tailored to the tire’s other components. Together with the carcass and tread pattern, it helps minimize the energy losses generated as the tire rolls.
A key additional advantage comes from a new manufacturing process. During production, the initially soft green tire is hardened in a mold under heat and pressure – a process known as vulcanization. In this case, however, Continental does not heat the tire uniformly at the same temperature, as is typical in conventional production. Instead, different areas of the tire are exposed to different temperatures. For example, the tread is cured differently from the sidewall. This allows the properties of each area of the tire to be optimized more precisely. For the tread, this results in even lower rolling resistance.
Low rolling noise
Rolling noise also played an important role in the development of the record-breaking tire. Its tread pattern was specifically designed by Continental to achieve particularly low noise levels. Continental’s engineers varied the spacing and angles of the tread blocks so that the noises they generate partially overlap and cancel each other out.
The principle is similar to that used in noise-canceling headphones. For the Mission Efficiency vehicle, this means the record-breaking tire not only improves efficiency but also ensures a particularly quiet driving experience. This aspect is becoming increasingly important in electric vehicles because, without the sound of an internal combustion engine, tire noise becomes far more noticeable.
OEM cooperation
The ID. Polo production car, upon which the Mission Efficiency is based, is already fitted with Continental’s EcoContact 7 as standard. For the record project, the two companies went a step further. Continental developed the tire in close collaboration with Volkswagen’s vehicle and aerodynamics engineers. The teams worked closely together from a very early stage of development to optimize the tire, vehicle and aerodynamics for maximum efficiency. The collaboration also extended to the vehicle’s design. The tire’s color-accented sidewall incorporates styling elements from the Mission Efficiency concept and contributes to the vehicle’s overall visual identity.
Three world records in one drive
During the record drive, the Mission Efficiency set three benchmarks: it became the world’s most aerodynamic near-production vehicle, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.158; the most efficient four-seat electric vehicle in its class in a single drive under controlled conditions; and the most economical near-production four-seat electric vehicle on an officially documented long-distance drive under real-world conditions. These achievements were made possible by a vehicle shape optimized for aerodynamics from the outset, along with innovative solutions to improve airflow across all relevant areas of the vehicle. The record-breaking vehicle is largely based on production components from the ID. Polo, including its battery and drivetrain. The Mission Efficiency therefore demonstrates the efficiency gains that can be achieved through targeted improvements to existing electric-vehicle technologies – under real-world, long-distance driving conditions and beyond standardized test cycles.
