MARKET DATA
Electric vehicles are expected to account for more than 33 per cent of new car sales worldwide by 2031, according to new research compiled by GlobalData.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales have reached record numbers in recent years, with annual sales projected to increase ten-fold in the next 15 years, especially in China and Europe, due to favourable policies and auto manufacturer commitments, according to GlobalData.
The overall trends illustrated by the most recent ETRMA tyre market data are undoubtedly useful to all parties, however some of the figures will raise eyebrows. For example, According to ETRMA’s full-year 2021 passenger car tyre data, Great Britain is the fourth-largest passenger car tyre market some way behind third-placed Italy. And is Turkey really Europe’s leading truck tyre business?
The latest European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) data suggest 2021 was “a positive year of recovery for the industry”, especially in the replacement sector. The biggest drop was in the Original Equipment (OE) consumer tyres segment (down 8 per cent) mainly due to the ongoing new vehicle chip shortage.
For the last few years Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) take-up has continued apace. Indeed, according to the latest UK vehicle registrations figures, cars that can be described as SUVs now occupy a significant portion of new vehicle market share. Indeed, the Nissan Qashqai crossover was the third most popular purchase in February 2021, according to the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). And the Volvo XC40 as well as the Volkswagen T-Roc and Tiguan also figure in the top 10. Of course, all these vehicles need tyres so there is every chance that the recent trend towards SUV tyre replacement sales is also going to continue over the next few years. But what about last year? With these trends in mind, the month’s SUV tyre feature takes a closer look the best products on the market beginning with a detailed look at the latest market data produced in association with GfK.
Global retreaded tyre sales are expected to reach US$ 8.8 billion in 2021, according to research produced by ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm Future Market Insights. According to the new report entitled “Retread Tires Market”, the increase in average miles driven and growing vehicle parc will drive the tyre aftermarket, subsequently fuelling the demand for retreaded tyres.
Check out the Retreading Special supplement that ships with the March, June and September issues of Tyres & Accessories, which you can also read here as an e-paper, for more like this. Not yet a subscriber? No problem. You can change that here.
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) published its members’ sales for the year 2020 as well as the last quarter of 2020, reporting that Covid 19 “strong affected” the market. The Original Equipment (OE) segments were said to have been “most strongly affected”, recording reductions of -23 per cent in the consumer tyre business and -18 per cent in truck tyres. That much is logical in light of the widespread closure of vehicle manufacturing under pandemic-related lockdown conditions across Europe during 2020.
5 November saw the inaugural virtual Tyre Industry Conference, with Tyres & Accessories bringing the traditional annual conference into the virtual arena due to Covid-19 restrictions. Produced in association with the NTDA and supported by Cam Systems, our expert panel was comprised of James Ward, senior insight manager, GfK; Andrea Manenti, VP north region, Bridgestone; and Pravesh Amtha, sales general manager Consumer UK&I, Goodyear. The wide-ranging 45-minute conversation covered a lot of bases, but the first session, which was designed to focus on the new tyre market’s recent trends and statistics began with a presentation from James Ward.
As Tyres & Accessories annual global social media ranking enters its seventh edition, this year there is a new winner. Last year’s champion, Pirelli, has fallen two places to third position. At the same time, Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ Falken brand rose an impressive eight positions to take the top spot. And Pirelli wasn’t the only well-known name to downshift, with two other brands taking retrograde steps. At the same time, in a reflection of what has taken place in the UK-only ranking, the top 10 has a new entry, with previously 10th-ranked MRF being overtaken by another large Indian tyremaker.
In October’s magazine, Tyres & Accessories takes a closer look at the latest developments in the multifaceted online tyre business. This article specifically looks at online tyre buying and pricing in conjunction with tyre pricing and selling-way data specialists Encircle Marketing. However, this is just one dimension in the online tyre business. In addition to online tyre retail, there is also the question of online marketing, an area in which social networks are playing an increasing important role (see separate article for further details). And on top of this, there is the electronic infrastructure necessary for the tyre business to participate – beginning with increasingly smart web sites and going onto integrated pricing and marketing tools.
For the fourth year in a row, Michelin can be found at the top of Tyres & Accessories’ 2020 UK social media ranking. Indeed, such is Michelin’s dominance in the annual table, only Goodyear (in 2012) and Dunlop (in 2016) have done enough to overtake the UK arm of the French tyre brand since our research began in 2011. In both cases, Michelin still managed to take second place.
On 3 September Amazon said it will create an extra 7,000 UK jobs this year to meet growing demand. Prior to this, the online retail giant had already added 3,000 roles in 2020. So, by the end of the year, it will have created a total of 10,000 new jobs. At the same time, the company has increased its involvement with the tyre market. While online tyre retail is about far more than Amazon, the news reflects increased demand both for online ordering in general and for online tyre sales in particular. But it is not just Amazon that has noticed this trend. Speaking during a webinar in June, GfK analysts highlighted how online tyre buying is increasing as a function of lockdown and the increased take-up of online shopping in general. Their thesis? More tyres will be sold online and the budget tyre sector will be the beneficiary.
This article, including three charts support the analysis, appears in full in the October edition of Tyres & Accessories. Not yet a subscriber? You can change that here.
4×4 tyre sales may have fallen due to the effects of coronavirus and lockdown, but prices in certain key sizes are actually higher than they were before those challenges presented themselves at the start of the year. Tyres & Accessories spoke to tyre market and pricing data experts Encircle Marketing in order to learn the details.
When you break the data down by size, a number of interesting trends are immediately identifiable. Firstly, there was a clear pre-lockdown price fall in February. The average price of a 255/55 R19 V tyre, for example, fell almost £6 from £138.10 to £132.86 between January and February. However, the average price of this size recovered to a point higher than the January starting point in March (£138.90).
The latest data might show that 4×4 replacement tyre sales are down 6 per cent, however Tyres & Accessories asked market analysts GfK how past trends compare with current realities and found: 4×4 tyres have been hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but far less than most other segments. At the same time, the all-season 4×4 tyre sub-segment witnessed some examples of positive growth.
4×4 retail tyre sales have long been a growth area and the UK market constitutes one of the leading lights in Europe. More recent growth has been driven by similarly strong SUV vehicle sales as well as consumer switches towards all-season products. At the same time, more practical and off-road-orientated vehicles have also been supporting 4×4 tyre sales.
The global light vehicle market continued its post-corona recovery in June, market analysts report. Global light vehicle sales fell by 19.1 per cent in June, year-on-year, to 6.2 million for a seasonally adjusted annualised running rate (SAAR) of 73.1 million in the month, according to GlobalData.
Calum MacRae, Automotive Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “While these results are some way behind industry norms, they do demonstrate that the global market has recovered from its April low when a SAAR of 48.2 million was registered.”
ETRMA
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ETRMA
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Encircle Marketing
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