On February 5, Pirelli’s Board of Directors voted that Cyber Tyre activities must continue to be carried out and developed in a fully integrated manner, including at the functional and organizational level with all the other activities of the Pirelli Group. The Vote was passed with nine members in favour and five against, with the assessment by Pirelli’s Chief Executive Officer Andrea Casaluci. Additionally, it was stated that Cyber Tire activities must also be managed in full consistency with, and in compliance with the strategic and industrial approach described by the CEO, with the express exclusion of any project or initiative that might lead to any form of compartmentalization, separation and/or segregation, even if it was only partial segregation.

During the meeting, Pirelli management emphasized the competitive and highly-advanced nature of the automotive sector. This includes both systems and vehicles that are ever more integrated and connected, such as software defined vehicles (SDA) and autonomous driving systems. Furthermore, tire technology itself has undergone a radical transformation, becoming a complex and technologically advanced system that collects, processes and transmits data.

Pirelli was among the very first to develop and launch hardware and software technology. The company’s Cyber Tyre, which communicates in real time with vehicle systems, has already been adopted by leading luxury vehicle brands and other agreements with OEMs are currently being formulated. The Cyber Tyre can also connect with road infrastructure, enabling functional services for smart roads as well as the monitoring of road and freeway networks. In Italy, agreements are already in place for several entities including the Apulia Region, Movyon (Autostrade per l’Italia group) and Anas.

During the board meeting, Pirelli management highlighted that the fragmentation of Pirelli and the segregation of the Cyber Tyre business would result in some major issues, namely:

• It would irreversibly undermine the integrated business model, one in which technology and innovation, product development, production and marketing exist in a constant exchange of information and data;
• It would confer within “Pirelli Cyber Tyre” the relative patents, therefore inhibiting their free use by Pirelli, denying the company of strategic knowledge, in contradiction of the principles at the heart of Pirelli company Bylaws;
• It would delay and weaken technological development, compromising Pirelli’s competitive and commercial advantage and its leadership in terms of innovation;
• It would translate into fewer synergies and greater costs due to the necessary duplication of operational structures;
• It would cause significant destruction of value and consequently reduce financial solidity;
• It would not overcome the limitations imposed by U.S. law.