In Russia, the production of passenger car tires has decreased

In the first quarter of 2025, the production of passenger car tires in Russia decreased by 5.2% to 8.23 million units, according to "Kommersant" with reference to the data of CRPT (operator of the "Honest Sign" brand).

The production of friction winter tires increased by 5.3% to 556 thousand units, studded winter tires - by 36% to 1.5 million units, and all-season tires - by 4.6% to 454 thousand units. At the same time, the production of summer tires decreased by 14.3% to 5.6 million units, which led to a decrease in the overall indicator.

In Pirelli, it is noted that the reduction in production is due to a weakening of demand and changes in consumer behavior, which "in a period of high bank rates prefer to postpone purchases, making a choice in favor of savings", and the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Behind the Wheel" Maxim Kadakov points out that there is an excess of production capacity in the Russian tire industry. According to him, before 2022, significant volumes of products were supplied for export, and then were redirected to the domestic market. "This is good for the country and consumers, but a big question is how the factories will get out of this situation", he said.

Not all companies have reduced their capacities, and, for example, "Cordiant" in the first quarter of 2025 increased the production of passenger car tires at all its plants. First of all, production volumes increased due to the launch of the Gislaved plant in Ulyanovsk and the increase in the production of tires under this brand, which belongs to the premium segment, said the general director of "Cordiant" Vadim Volodin.

In Pirelli, they emphasize that production plans are certainly adjusted taking into account the market situation, but the strategy for expanding the range remains unchanged, and, for example, in the winter season of 2025, a new non-studded model called PirelliIce Zero FR 3 will be released on the Russian market.

According to the head of "Cordiant", the weakening of demand for summer tires was due to an abnormally cold spring, which shifted the season of tire replacement. "Many car owners postponed the purchase of summer tires, waiting for a stable warming", he noted.

The general director of Ikon Tyres Andrey Panteukhov also stated that the decline in demand was due to weather conditions, and added that in the first quarter, the company's sales "substantially increased".

The marketplaces surveyed by "Kommersant" reported an increase in sales of summer tires, but, as Maxim Kadakov noted, this is rather due to the development of online platforms themselves. In the first quarter, sales of summer tires on "Avito" grew by 8%, and in Wildberries & Russ, they said that the volume of tire sales was increased 2.7 times.

In CRPT, they did not report which brands are leading in the market, and in the automotive marketplace Fresh, they noted that the highest demand is for Gislaved PremiumControl tires, Pirelli Cinturato P7, Ikon Autograph Aqua 3, Sailun Atrezzo ZSR, Belshina Astarta SUV and Triangle TR259.

All surveyed industry participants agree that the situation in the market is not improving at the moment. In Pirelli, they say that "positive changes can be expected in case of a change in monetary policy", and in "Cordiant" they note that due to the reduction of the automotive market in the winter season, a decrease in sales is also expected - approximately by 5%.