Gislaved supported the anniversary award "Car of the Year in Russia"

The situation in the domestic tire industry was discussed by Ksenia Glinik, the head of the passenger and light truck tire department of the marketing department of Cordiant, at the annual "Car of the Year in Russia" award ceremony, which took place at the TASS press center.

According to her, over the 10 months of 2025, sales of new passenger cars in Russia decreased by 20% (54% of consumption accounts for Chinese cars), and, naturally, the tire market "is very sensitive to the decline in demand". For this reason, the consumption of passenger tires in the country over the first nine months of the year decreased by 7% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 31.4 million units.

"If we look at the winter season now, we don't see any improvements," Glinik noted, adding that "according to all forecasts, the negative trend will continue." "Even in the most optimistic scenario, in 2026 we expect to reach the levels of 2025, which means that next year we also don't see positive forecasts," the Cordiant representative said.

"As a result, we have a somewhat paradoxical picture, where the consumer is in a privileged position due to high competition among manufacturers and a wide range of offerings, which looks very positive for the consumer, but for manufacturers, it's the opposite: it turns into fierce competition and a decrease in margin, and in the long term, we see risks for the entire industry," Glinik stated.

She also added that last year, consumers were in a state of uncertainty when choosing tires, but now, car owners have already made their choices, and demand for European premium brands is declining, while local players are showing very good growth. For example, the Gislaved brand, the rights to which Cordiant acquired after Continental left Russia, is demonstrating a 30% growth in search queries, and the trend continues.

"In principle, local players are strengthening their positions. For example, the Cordiant tire holding company currently occupies the second place in terms of production capacity [in Russia, after Ikon Tyres]. The total capacity is up to 15 million tires. We occupy the first place in sales of passenger tires according to the results of 2024. Of course, we want to and are confident that we will be able to maintain our position by the end of 2025," she said.

According to Glinik, the Gislaved brand, which belongs to the premium segment, is rapidly gaining momentum, which is facilitated by the expansion of the range: this year, three new winter models were released under the brand - two studded and one frictional.

Regarding the demand for large-diameter tires, which is growing due to the popularity of Chinese cars, Glinik said that "at the moment, this problem is solved": "The holding company's portfolio currently includes popular sizes 17 and 18 inches, and next year, the '21+' diameter will also be presented on the market, which means we will be ready to offer all diameters up to 22 inches. In total, Cordiant's range currently covers 85% of the segment of tires for Chinese cars."

The "Car of the Year in Russia" award has been presented for the past 25 years, and the winner is determined by drivers through online voting. This year, the number of voters exceeded one million people, and the Russian brand Tenet (which releases renamed Chery models) won, while Lada received the award as the favorite brand in the mass segment.