Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
2022 has been a challenging year for the Chinese tyre industry. This year is coming to an end, but a feeling of anxiety is crossing regions and classes and spreads throughout the industry. From manufacturers to distributors, from vulcanisation workshop workers to corporate executives, many professionals are asking the question: Where is the future of China’s tyre industry?
Shandong Province, one of the leading tyre production areas in China, is once again affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. On December 1, there were 41 new confirmed cases and 623 asymptomatic infections in this area. To ensure production can continue, two tyre companies have announced the implementation of closed-loop management.
On November 29, Toyo Tires issued a notice on its official Chinese website saying it will resume using the old Chinese brand name in the mainland market from 1 December. Both the old and new brand names are the Chinese translation of “Toyo Tires”. Toyo previously used this brand name in the Chinese market before 2015, subsequently changing its name to use the Chinese pronunciation of Toyo Tires to determine the new version of the brand and the company name.
This time last year we sought to sum up what can only be described as a tumultuous preceding 12 months by pointing to the Oxford English Dictionary word of 2021, which was “vax” – something that harked back to the heights of pandemic-related lockdowns. But for many it is still a current reality. The year before it the word of the year was “unprecedented”.
Bridgestone China Asia Pacific (BSCAP) won Gold in both the CSR and ESG Leadership category, and the Best Environmental Excellence Award in the suite of awards facilitated by Pinnacle Group International. Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to the RYDA road safety education program and sustainable practices embedded within the Bandag retread business were highlighted as a significant contributor to the award victories. This is the fifth consecutive year that BSCAP has being recognised for its initiatives across the region at the Global CSR & ESG Awards.
In September Tyrepress learned from China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) that, on 14 September, CRIA and the European Commission (EC) investigators held an online hearing on the European Commission’s renewed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations relating to the imports of Chinese-made truck tyres. Shortly afterwards, Tyrepress reported that Laurens Elsen, an EC investigator, said that the EC would contact EU customs to ensure that during the re-investigation, the relevant departments will not “impose” any anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on the tyre companies that prevail in the judgment of the European Court of Justice. However, European Commission representatives contested that interpretation, arguing that the language of levying rather than imposition is more appropriate.
The European representatives of Chinese tyre manufacturers continue to await the European Commission’s decision on the future of tariffs on truck tyres imported from the country following the European Court of Justice’s annulment of the tariffs introduced on 8 May 2018. While the EC’s deputies of the Unit DG Trade have talked about a “re-investigation” in response to Chinese representatives calling for the EC to implement fully the judgement of the ECJ, Tyres & Accessories understands that the more likely outcome is rather a recalculation of the tariffs the EC will apply, while manufacturers’ European operations are also bracing for the possibility of the backdated implementation of newly set rates. T&A asked Corrado Moglia, general manager of Triangle Tyre’s European operation, who has been representing the company’s interests in discussions with the EC, about how the situation is developing from his point of view.
On November 11, Shandong Province announced the ‘Action Plan for a Powerful Province of Advanced Manufacturing (2022-2025)’. The Shandong authority specifically emphasised in this guidance document the necessity to promote increased quality in the development of high energy consuming industries, including the tyre industry. In addition, the concepts of “intelligent upgrade”, “green transformation”, “service extension”, and “ecological agglomeration” mentioned in the Action Plan also set out a rough outline for the upgrade and development of tyre companies in Shandong Province in the next few years.
Recently, Guizhou Tyre (also known as Advance Tyre) disclosed utilising production capacity. In 2022, China has implemented relatively strict control measures against the epidemic, and the logistics are not smooth, which indirectly leads to weak demand for truck and bus tyres. Affected by the above factors, Guizhou Tyre’s domestic plant has a capacity utilisation rate of around 80 per cent for all-steel radial tyres. Over the same period, capacity utilisation for OTR tyres was about 95 per cent.
On 18 November, China Customs announced the export data for October. In October, China exported 41.19 million new pneumatic rubber tyres, down 16 per cent year-on-year. The weight of these tyres was 600,000 tons, down 1.5 per cent. During the same period, the total value of China’s tyre exports was 10.4 billion yuan (about £1.2 billion; 1.4 billion euros), an increase of 10.5 per cent.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has decided to file a case against Giti Tire Corporation (Giti Tire Corp). The tyre company is suspected of information disclosure violations. Giti Tire Corp has received an official notification from CSRC. Tyrepress notes a 22 September Shanghai Stock Exchange report detailing measures taken against the company as a result of such violatons: “In the last 12 months, we (the Shanghai Stock Exchange) imposed supervision on (Giti Tire Corp) for similar violations. (Giti Tire Corp) did not make timely rectifications and continued to carry out the same type of violations for a long time, and the circumstances were serious.”
On its 10 November board meeting, Aeolus approved a project with a total investment of 610 million yuan (about 73.12 million pounds, 82.93 million euros) at its manufacturing base in Jiaozuo, China. It is reported that the tyre company plans to increase the annual production capacity of 80,000 tyres through reconstruction, including giant tyres and engineering radial tyres. The construction period is expected to be 18 months.
On 11 November 2022, Chinese authorities issued a notice on how to proceed with the next phase of COVID-19 prevention and management. The statement’s content shows that the Chinese government is still adhering to the policy of “dynamic clearing”, but it has relaxed controls to a certain extent. And that’s good news for the tyre industry as one practitioner told us: “The fight against COVID-19 may not end in a short period in China. However, if the anti-epidemic policies in the next stage can reduce the negative impact on the economy, it will undoubtedly benefit China’s tyre industry.”
From January to October, Yanchang Rubber sold 3.759 million tyres. It is reported that the tyre company has undergone several reforms in 2022 and established three new departments in April, the all-steel radial tyre business department, the semi-steel radial tyre business department and the marketing centre.
Christian Lue; Unsplash
Önder Örtel; Unsplash
Fran; Unsplash
Bridgestone
Christian Lue; Unsplash
ChutterSnap; Unsplash
Triangle Tyre
Guizhou Tyre
Giti Tire
Aeolus
Martin Sanchez; Unsplash
Yanchang Rubber
Ernie Journeys; Unsplash