Valeo has launched Canopy, the first wiper designed to reduce CO2 emissions by 61% compared to a Valeo wiper blade representative of the majority of wiper blades commercialised in the European market. The company says the performance has been verified by Bureau Veritas.
Valeo Canopy’s rubber blade is made of more than 80% natural, renewable or recycled materials such as cane sugar, vegetable oils or carbon black from recycled tyres. An increased share of recycled material is used in other components of Canopy wiper blades with up to 15% recycled steel in the metal structures and up to 50% recycled plastic in the end clips.
The Canopy wiper is manufactured in the Valeo plant in Issoire (France), which already produces the bulk of Valeo wipers for the European market. The Valeo Canopy range of wiper blades is delivered ready to use without unnecessary adapters to be thrown away while offering ease of assembly. It covers 95% of the vehicles in the European fleet. Furthermore, Canopy comes in a 100% cardboard packaging, fully recyclable and printed with solvent-free water-based inks.
In addition to this action on the specific Valeo Canopy range, Valeo is committed to eliminating single-use plastic packaging from all its wiper blade ranges by the end of 2024 in Europe, replacing them with more sustainable cardboard solutions.
The Valeo Canopy windshield wiper is slated to go on sale in Europe later this year.
Image: Valeo