The goal is to catch up with the premium segment. Linglong told about plans for the future
Chinese company Linglong has very serious ambitions, and in 2024, during the opening of the Serbian factory, the company's head, Wang Feng, said that the tire manufacturer intends to become one of the market leaders, and billions of dollars will be invested in development, while sales by 2030 should grow almost twofold - to 160 million tires per year. In early February 2026, company representatives shared plans for the future during a test drive of the Linglong Sport Master Winter winter tires in the picturesque winter park "Stegergut" at an altitude of 1030 meters above sea level among the mountain peaks of Salzburg, Austria.
According to Linglong's sales manager in Germany, Jens Brueckner, "in terms of quality, we already see ourselves in the medium segment, which is confirmed by tire tests and cooperation with car manufacturers. At the same time, in terms of price, we are still in the budget category, which should change and it will. In the long term, the goal is to catch up with the premium segment".
As Brueckner notes, the main difference between Linglong and other Chinese brands is that the company is the only one among Chinese tire manufacturers to have its own factory in Europe. In addition, all products for the European market are developed and tested in the region, namely in the research center located in Germany, and this is of great importance.
"The European market is extremely demanding and highly competitive," says Brueckner, adding that "developing and testing tires for the regional market within the region is the only way to offer high-quality products of the highest class".
Recently, the summer tire Linglong Sport Master received a "Recommended" rating in ACE tests, and Brueckner notes that "good test results are extremely important, as many dealers and buyers still have prejudices against Chinese products. Success in tests is the best argument to dispel these prejudices and show that our products can compete with well-known brands - and, as a rule, are offered at a significantly lower price".
In the future, Linglong intends to start opening flagship stores in Europe, and the first one will appear in Sweden, after which this concept will be used in other countries. "Our main goal is to offer high-quality products at an affordable price. This allows us to attract a very wide audience," says Brueckner.
Linglong is also actively working in the primary equipment segment, supplying tires to such automotive brands as Volkswagen, Cupra, and Fiat, and the company reports that to date, more than 280 million tires have been supplied in this sector. According to Brueckner, partnership with car manufacturers plays a big role, as "on the one hand, it confirms the quality of our tires, and on the other hand, it creates demand in the secondary market". At the same time, participation in European motorsport "is not a strategic priority" at the moment.
Currently, Linglong owns five factories in China and one each in Thailand and Serbia, and soon it plans to launch production in Brazil. In addition, Linglong has seven research centers located in China, the USA, and Germany, and the headquarters of the company's European division is located in Hanover, in close proximity to the Continental headquarters.
Linglong pays special attention to attracting valuable personnel, and the company has already hired prominent specialists in the tire industry. Thus, the head of Linglong's scientific and technical department in Europe is now Andreas Krause, who previously worked at Continental, and the company has also "lured" other experts from industry giants who help create new products and implement innovations, including in the field of eco-friendly tires.
Currently, Linglong is developing a carbon-neutral tire made 100% from eco-materials, and the share of such materials in production at the Serbian factory is planned to be increased to 85% by 2028 and to 100% by 2040. In 2024, at The Tire Cologne exhibition, a concept tire with 79% "green" raw materials was presented, and during the event in Austria, the head of Linglong's marketing department in Europe, Wolf Fuder, noted that "our strategy is to ensure maximum environmental protection and optimal carbon footprint of products".
Linglong is also making significant investments in marketing, and, for example, is a partner of such well-known football clubs as Real Madrid and Chelsea. "In Europe and Turkey, football sponsorship is one of our most important marketing tools," Fuder said.
In the spring of 2026, a new European Linglong website is planned to be launched in several languages, and the company also publishes materials on social networks, and test drives will also be part of the manufacturer's marketing strategy. Representatives of more than 30 trading companies from all over Europe were invited to Austria, and Fuder said that this is just the first event of its kind, and in the future, there will be "more and more" of them.
The winter Linglong Sport Master Winter, which was tested in "Stegergut" (previously called Linglong Grip Master Winter), became the first tire of the company, which was developed in Germany and is exclusively produced only in Serbia. Not so long ago, Sport Master Winter received a "Good" rating in the tests of the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, which was reminded to the test drive participants by special stickers on all the cars used, and Vincent Liu, responsible for Linglong's marketing activities in foreign markets, said that in a separate test, the tire surpassed the product of a major competitor in terms of traction and handling on asphalt and only slightly lost in terms of braking efficiency on dry and wet surfaces, as well as handling on snow (according to Reifenpresse, Continental acted as a competitor, which expressed, to put it mildly, bewilderment at such test results, but the details are unfortunately not available).
Photo: Pneus News