Quote Originally Posted by Smac770 View Post
...I didn't find anything regarding any EU regulation and mandating support for snow chains. "Regulations: Germany does not have any regulations governing snow chains in place". So not sure, other than no car manufacturer sees the need to invite unnecessary problems by flushing the wheels with the fender for the almost 100% of customers that don't care.
France and Italy both have requirements for either winter tires (Alpine symbol) or chains. Perhaps other countries have similar requirements, as each country has it's own set of regulations. This is much like the variation of regulations in different states in the US. For example, some roads in Colorado require chains when the snow accumulates. Even so, I still don't know if that's why manufacturers leave such a gap between the tire and fender.