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.
On 17 March, Xingda Steel Tyre Cord held a ceremony celebrating the commencement of production at the second phase project of the company’s Shandong factory. Liu Tao and Hang Youming, deputy general managers of the steel tyre cord manufacturer, attended the event. In his speech, Liu Tao revealed that the Shandong factory’s second phase mainly serves tyre companies in Shandong Province and northern China.
On 10 March, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province’s environmental protection department accepted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) document of Zhongce Qingquan’s waste tyre treatment project. After completing this project, the subsidiary of ZC Rubber will be able to process 20,000 tons of waste tyres (crumb rubber) per year.
Alongside an exclusive tour of Linglong Tire’s new European production base in Serbia, Tyres & Accessories sat down with chairman Wang Feng in a conversation that covered topics including the company’s plans for its latest factory in Serbia, the location of its next manufacturing investment and the fast-growing tyre manufacturer’s strategic goals.
China-based tyre manufacturer Prinx Chengshan is in the process of expanding in the wider Asia-Pacific area, having revamped its four major brands Prinx, Chengshan, Austone and Fortune for 2023.
That revamp was achieved by “relying on the company’s national-level enterprise technology innovation centre and new energy collaborative research centre”, Prinx Chengshan reports, adding that it has “vigorously conducted cutting-edge tyre technology research, created an international standard new product matrix, and achieved fruitful results.”
On 2 March 2023 the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Shandong Province stated that it agreed to Zhucheng Yong’an Rubber Technology (Yong’an Rubber) to undergo a “capacity replacement” at its tyre production facility. The company in Zhucheng, Weifang, plans to dismantle the production capacity of 300,000 all-steel radial tyres and 5.46 million semi-steel radial tyres and launch a project with an annual output of 70,100 tons of OTR tyres. The Chinese government calls this behaviour “capacity replacement”, meaning that a company must withdraw its equivalent production capacity if it wants to build a new project. Tyrepress’ sister website, Tyrepress China notes that Yong’an Rubber had undergone bankruptcy and reorganisation in 2020-21, having been acquired by Sailun.
On 6 March, the authorities of Hefei City, Anhui Province, released reported that they they had reached a consensus with Giti headquarters on relocating the Hefei factory. The chairman of Giti Tire will go to Hefei soon to inspect the address of the new factory.
Tyre cord manufacturer Xingda and Continental Group recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement at Xingda Steel Tyre Cord (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Details of what is involved in the agreement remain to be seen at this stage, but Xingda representatives report that the cooperation includes improving the supplier management services in Europe.
In recent years, authorities in many regions of China have put waste tyre recycling on their agenda. Recycling waste tyres is a reusable resource that aligns with China’s current green and sustainable development policy and can bring profits to tyre companies. Tyrepress China notes that ZC Rubber, Linglong, Doublestar and other tyre manufacturers have begun to lay out their plans in this industry. For example, in December 2022, Linglong Anhui Manufacturing Base announced that it was preparing to launch a project to recycle 30,000 tons of waste tyres annually and its feasibility study provides numerous insights into the development of the wider Chinese tyre recycling business.
The new, full-electric Smart #1 is the first Smart model developed by the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Chinese carmaker Geely. Launch photos released by Smart Europe last year let the Continental cat out of the tyre supply bag, and Continental has now confirmed worldwide supply for the SUV in 18” & 19” tyre sizes.
On 20 February 2023, Michelin held the opening ceremony for its new China headquarters office building in Shanghai. Joan Valadou, Consul General of France in Shanghai, Ye Fei, President of Michelin China, and others attended the event. The new headquarters of Michelin China is located in Changning District, started construction in September 2022 and was completed in January 2023.
Following the departure of Sentury’s Spain factory project’s general manager, Warren Rudman, Sentury’s senior executives have taken up the reins of Sentury Tire (Spain), according to local business publication Economia Digital Galicia.
Sentury’s revenue and net profit in 2022 increased year-on-year. The tyre manufacturer’s annual report shows that last year’s revenue was 6.29 billion yuan (about £760 million; €860 million), an increase of 21.53 per cent. Net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 800 million yuan (approximately £97 million; €1.1 billion), an increase of 6.3 per cent.
On 16 February, Marco Polo International Italy S.r.l. (Marco Polo) stated that “Sinochem does not have any plan to sell its stake in Pirelli”. Marco Polo is Pirelli’s largest shareholder, holding a 37.01 per cent stake in the tyre maker. The ownership of Marco Polo belongs to China National Tyre & Rubber Co., Ltd (CNRC) under Sinochem Holdings.
Xingda
Zhongce Qingquan
Chengshan
Sailun
Anhui Giti
Zodo Tire
Xingda
Imthaz Ahamed; Unsplash
Michelin
Narcisa Aciko; Pexels
Sentury