Import of passenger tires from China to Russia has decreased

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of the PRC, which is cited by Kommersant, in 2025, China supplied passenger tires to Russia worth $510.15 million, which is 4% less compared to 2024, but 3.3 times more than in 2021, when several major foreign brands had not yet left the Russian market.

As noted by Ekaterina Guseva, Director of the Marketing Department of the Cordiant holding company, according to the company's estimates, last year the activity of Chinese suppliers decreased by 10%, but "given the record imports of passenger tires from China in 2024, this can be called not a decline, but a move towards normal values".

According to her, over the past five years, China has become the main supplier of tires to the Russian Federation, increasing its share in imports from 38% in 2020 to almost 70% in 2024. The most significant increase was in the supply of passenger tires, which in 2024 amounted to 25 million units, and experts note that currently, there are over 200 Chinese tire brands available in Russia, and their number continues to grow, with their total market share approaching a third.

Guseva notes that the growth in imports is hindering the development of the Russian tire industry, and "the current exchange rate and the insignificant impact of logistics on prices allow Chinese manufacturers to dump, which intensifies competition in some segments". Mainly budget tires are imported from China, and, as the Cordiant representative says, "there is overstocking of Chinese brands, which also has a negative impact on the market and price competition".

In 2026, a new environmental fee was introduced in Russia for tires with increased content of carcinogenic substances, which, according to analysts, may reduce tire imports from China, since "30-40% of Chinese tires do not meet carcinogen content standards".