Michelin: 130 years accompanying drivers… and not just with tyres

Michelin celebrates its 130th anniversary since the tyre company was founded. But 2019 also marks two other milestones: a century of mapping in Spain and 110 years since the first Michelin Guide for Spain and Portugal.

If you think of Michelin, the first thing that probably comes to mind is a tyre brand. But what many drivers and travellers may not know is that Michelin offers drivers a range of services that goes beyond its wide selection of tyres, which are a benchmark in the market for their performance, quality and durability.

130 years paving the way for motorists

We have to go back to 1891, when the brothers André and Édouard Michelin designed a detachable bicycle tyre. They aimed to solve the difficulties users of this type of vehicle faced when they had to change a complete wheel. And they succeeded. Three years earlier, in 1889, they had founded the company by taking over the workshop run by their father, in Clermont-Ferrand.

The first car to run on tyres fitted with an inner air chamber, the Eclair, revolutionised the automotive world in 1895. Since then, Michelin has not stopped innovating in search of ever more efficient solutions that offer drivers greater advantages. The latest is the UPTIS prototype, an airless, puncture-proof wheel that Michelin plans to bring to market within five years.

The genius of the Michelin brothers also made them true pioneers of a discipline that at the time barely existed, or at least went by a different name. We are talking about marketing. And speaking of marketing… a short aside: who doesn’t recognise the Bibendum, the Michelin Man?

As a tyre manufacturer, Michelin had an interest in people driving their vehicles. So that they could do so safely and enjoy a complete experience, Michelin devised a whole series of services for motorists, including road maps and all kinds of hotel and travel guides. Moreover, they took a very practical approach, including tips that helped drivers with routine vehicle maintenance, for example.

Michelin maps and guides: planning the trip and reaching the destination

Just like its tyres, Michelin travel maps and guides have evolved over all these years.

The renowned Michelin Guide, in its edition for Spain and Portugal, appeared in 1910, just 10 years after the first Michelin Guide was presented in 1900. Today it has become a global gastronomic benchmark, and the Michelin Guide now has editions covering the main countries of the world.

The Spanish edition, which turns 110 years old in November, includes more than 200 establishments that users can select based on the renowned star rating, the Bib Gourmand, or The Michelin Plate, awarded by inspectors after a rigorous selection process.

Michelin cartography in Spain also turns a century old in 2019. Michelin maps were created with the aim of helping travellers get around safely, at a time when this was difficult due to the nascent development of the road network.

Today, drawing on Michelin’s guides, maps and cartography, the free ViaMichelin app and its corresponding website give drivers everything they need to bring their journey to a successful end: GPS navigation, 3D maps, alerts, trip cost calculations…

#YourMichelinRoadTrips: travel safely with Michelin

Returning to that spirit of service to motorists, Michelin has created an initiative that invites all users to share the hashtag #YourMichelinRoadTrips while enjoying a journey behind the wheel.

To this end, Michelin held an event that we attended first-hand, recreating what a route in vehicles of the era might have been 100 years ago, following the itinerary traced on Michelin maps. This time, however, aboard high-end vehicles fitted with the brand’s latest-generation tyres, such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and 4S, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV and Michelin CrossClimate.

The route? As the times demand: following the GPS directions of the ViaMichelin app to reach our destination at the Cigarral del Ángel, with marvellous views of the Imperial City of Toledo, which we were able to enjoy together with celebrity guests who also attended the event. And according to Michelin, it won’t be the only trip planned for this year…

And you, do you travel with Michelin? Well, you know what to do: share #YourMichelinRoadTrips.