Top 10 events of 2024 in the Chinese tire industry
In 2024, Chinese tire companies continued to strengthen their positions in the global market, set a record for production volumes, and actively invested in new projects outside of China. The Autohome portal told us what the top 10 events in the Chinese tire industry were in the outgoing year.
1. Billion tires
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in November 2024, 103.445 million rubber tires were produced in the country, which is 8.5% more than a year earlier. The total production of tires in January-November increased by 9.7% to 1.09 billion tires, and this figure exceeded 1 billion units of products for the first time in the reporting period.
While production volumes in China are growing, the situation in the local market remains not the most satisfactory for manufacturers, and, for example, demand for tires for trucks continued to decline throughout the year. Against this background, the load on many factories and their production volumes began to decrease. It is expected that the overall growth in tire sales in the country will be ensured mainly due to such segments as motorcycle, bicycle, electric vehicle, special equipment tires, etc.
2. The first Chinese tire plant in Indonesia
On December 18, a grand opening ceremony of the ZC Rubber plant was held in Indonesia. The enterprise called PT. Matahari Tire Indonesia (MTI) is located in the city of Semarang, Central Java province, and $280 million was invested in its creation.
MTI was founded in January 2024, and the plant became the second production site for ZC Rubber outside of China, in addition to the industrial complex in Thailand. A wide range of products, including truck and bus tires, cameras, caterpillars, and technical carbon, will be produced at the new plant, and its expected turnover is around $710 million.
3. The first Chinese tire plant in Mexico
On May 15, in the Mexican city of Irapuato, the construction of a new plant with a capacity of 6 million passenger tires was started, which is a joint project of the Chinese company Sailun and the local company Tire Direct. The new enterprise was named Aztema Rubber & Tire Manufacturing, which refers to the Aztecs, and the planned investment will be $240 million.
Sailun has become the first Chinese tire company to start implementing a project to localize production in North America, and now its plant in the country is also being built by ZC Rubber and the Japanese company Yokohama.
4. The first Chinese tire plant in Europe
On September 13, in the Serbian city of Zrenjanin, a ceremony was held to launch mass production at the Linglong plant, which was attended by the President of the country, Alexander Vucic, and the Chairman of the Board of the company, Wang Feng.
$900 million was invested in the plant, and its design capacity is 13.62 million tires. In August, Linglong announced that in January 2025, it will begin expanding the enterprise in Serbia, increasing the volume of products released by 1.1 million tires (800,000 tires for trucks and industrial equipment, 150,000 tires for agricultural equipment, and 100,000 refurbished tires). In addition, investments will be made in the production of regenerated rubber, photovoltaic energy generation, etc.
5. Chinese tires for civil aviation
On November 21, the Airbus A320 aircraft of the Air Guilin airline successfully completed a test flight and landed at Guilin Liangjiang International Airport on the first radial tires for civil aviation manufactured in China.
The tires were developed by Guilin Lanyu Aircraft Tire Development, which is part of the Sinochem holding, and it is noted that the new product has passed tests that confirmed its compliance with international standards. In October 2024, the tires received the CTSOA (China Civil Aviation Technical Standard Order) certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
6. Kumho becomes a subsidiary of Doublestar
Doublestar, which has been the controlling shareholder of Kumho since 2018, intends to make the Korean tire manufacturer its subsidiary, for which shares worth $680 million will be acquired. As part of the deal, Doublestar and Chengtou Venture Capital undertake to "ensure the efficiency of Kumho Tire's activities over the next four years, which demonstrates the confidence of investors in the company's future development".
In 2023, Doublestar received revenue of $640 million, while Kumho's turnover was around $3 billion. After the restructuring, Doublestar may theoretically enter the top 10 largest tire manufacturers in the world.
7. Bridgestone leaves the Chinese truck tire market
In recent years, a number of foreign manufacturers have decided to leave the Chinese truck tire market due to strong competition from local brands, and in 2024, Bridgestone joined Sumitomo and Yokohama, stopping the production of tires for trucks in the country.
As noted in Bridgestone, in China, the company will focus on the production and sale of tires for passenger cars. On January 26, the plant in Shenyang stopped producing truck tires, and the company says that "the recovery rate of the [Chinese] truck tire market did not meet expectations, and demand in the international market remains weak".
8. One of the first leaders of the Chinese tire industry ceases to exist
In November 2024, it was announced that 143 units of equipment from the Qingdao Huanghai Rubber Group plant in Qingdao (Shandong Province) were put up for sale, and this is the last batch of assets that will be sold, after which the company with a 90-year history will completely cease to exist.
Initially, Huanghai was founded as the Qingdao Rubber Technical Plant No. 2, and in 1954, the capacity was 600,000 tires per year, which allowed the company to become the second largest manufacturer of automobile tires in China. Since the beginning of the new century, the enterprise has changed owners several times and eventually was put up for sale at an auction.
9. A new plant worth 10 billion yuan
The largest investment project in the Chinese tire industry in the outgoing year was the construction of the Gubersail Tire plant worth 10 billion yuan (1.37 billion dollars) in Huai'an (Jiangsu). Construction work on the northern site of the enterprise is already being completed, and it is expected to be completed in December. The commissioning of the first capacities is scheduled for mid-January, and serial production of tires should begin in May 2025.
The design capacity of the new enterprise is 30 million passenger and 3.5 million truck tires, and the expected annual turnover is $1.37 billion.
10. New duties on Chinese tires
On September 30, the Ministry of Economy of Mexico announced that from October 1, a new duty will be levied on the import of Chinese tires for passenger and light trucks with a diameter of 13 to 22 inches, ranging from 5.18% (for ZODO Tire) to 32.24% (for Junhong, Hankook, and a number of other companies). The investigation into tire imports from China was launched in 2022 after receiving a petition from Mexican subsidiaries of Bridgestone, Continental, and Michelin.
As noted in the department, local companies are suffering losses due to unfair trade practices by Chinese suppliers. In addition to Mexico, anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese tire imports are also in effect in the United States, Europe, Turkey, and other countries.
Photo: Autohome, Gongyetoutiao.