In Russia, the recovery of tire production is expected

Last year, tire production volumes in Russia decreased by 22%, and the load of domestic plants was only 51%. At the same time, in 2026, a "gradual recovery of production with moderate growth of up to 11%" is expected, writes TASS with reference to the press service of "Cordiant".

According to the company, last year the Russian market for passenger car tires decreased by 17% in the wholesale channel, to 47.03 million tires, and by 9% in retail, while "Cordiant" maintains its leadership in terms of passenger car tire production with a share of 27%.

The market was influenced by factors such as a decrease in new car sales (by 16%, according to "Autostat"), high loan rates, inflation, consumers' refusal to make expensive purchases, and weather conditions, the company notes.

Tire imports, as noted in the company, decreased by 10% last year and stabilized at 1.7 million units per month, with China being the main supplier with a 75% share. Export volumes decreased by 17%, and "Cordiant" accounts for 60% of supplies.

In retail sales on the domestic market, "Cordiant" maintained a share of 13%, while the Gislaved brand showed growth of 26% due to the expansion of the winter lineup and the increase in production capacity at the Kaluga plant. In the medium price segment, the Cordiant brand remains the leader with a share of 18%.

In 2026, according to the company's forecasts, the activity of Chinese brands will decrease by 10%, which "will allow the market to stabilize and reduce pressure on domestic producers". At the same time, it is expected that "the trend of reducing finished goods inventories will continue, as well as the risk of dumping and a repeat of the situation in 2024, when there was an accumulation of excess inventories against the background of a surplus of capacity and strong pressure from imports". It is expected that the total market volume of passenger car tires will decrease by 2% to around 46 million units.

This year, "Cordiant" plans to focus on the production of large-size tires in response to market requests and the popularity of Chinese cars. Thus, in the fall of 2026, a new studded tire Gislaved One W will enter the market - the first winter tire Gislaved, fully developed by specialists of the NTC "Intair", which is part of "Cordiant" - which will be available in 75 sizes with a diameter of up to 22 inches.

The situation in the industry was recently discussed by the director of the marketing department of the "Cordiant" holding, Ekaterina Guseva, during the ForAuto auto business forum, within which a session dedicated to the tire industry was held for the first time.

According to her, the key trends in the market are, in particular, the "galloping growth of tire diameters and the aging of the fleet", and some car owners have begun to postpone the purchase of tires, which has led to a decrease in sales.

Guseva also noted that currently, many traditional export markets are closed for Russian tire manufacturers, and "establishing new connections is a slow process that requires additional research: it is not possible to supply tires made for Siberia to the same Africa". Regarding imports from abroad, Guseva stated that "75% of imports are from China, with many brands that are constantly being updated. Sometimes they are even hard to remember, not to mention giving a real expert assessment of quality".