China’s largest tyre manufacturer, ZC Rubber, plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and has entered the pre-listing tutoring stage. Recently, Hangcha Group, one of the principal shareholders of ZC Rubber, confirmed the news. The institution that conducted ZC Rubber’s pre-listing tutoring is China Securities.
Michelin remains the world’s leading tyre company by sales turnover, but Bridgestone is close behind in one of three close battles distributed across the table. For the first time, our research ranking market-leading global tyre manufacturers in terms of sales turnover converted into euros, illustrates the impact of recent high-profile acquisitions as well as the ongoing disruption of pandemic on the wider market landscape.
ZC Rubber has launched new flagship tyres in its Westlake and Goodride European ultra-high performance car tyre ranges at The Tire Cologne 2022. The Westlake ZuperAce Z-007 and Goodride Solmax 1 are designed to deliver quieter running, increased grip, and handling performance, ZC Rubber says. The manufacturer adds that it has upgraded the tyre structure with core technologies from ZC Rubber, BPOT technology and Hybrid formula. The Westlake ZuperAce Z-007 and Goodride Solmax 1 will be available in ranges of 17-22 inch sizes for the European market starting in June 2022. Both tyres will be fully introduced throughout Europe and Southeast Asia in the second half of 2022, following the initial roll-out.
The Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) was excluded from the list of applicable companies in the European Courts of Justice’s 4 May 2022 ruling annulling import tariffs against truck tyres produced in China. Reading the small print of the ruling reveals why. The initial ruling didn’t completely apply to ZC Rubber and so action against it couldn’t be annulled. In other words, the latest anti-dumping annulment is inadmissible for ZC Rubber, because nothing was applied in the first place.
An environmental impact assessment has commenced for the all-steel radial tyre plant that Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) intends to build in Hangzhou, China. Subsidiary Hangzhou Zhongce Qiantang Industrial intends to set up the 6.5 million tyre a year greenfield facility in the Xiaoshan Linjiang High-tech Industrial Park; stakeholders now have an opportunity to comment on the project’s potential ramifications.
Zhongce Rubber Group (Zhongce) has acquired Tianjin United Tire & Rubber International Co, Ltd (TUTRIC), the manufacturer of the Tianli off-the-road tyre brand. The acquisition means Zhongce will expand its business into the agricultural and giant OTR tyre segments, while bolstering its already strong offering to OTR and industrial tyre markets. Established in 1985 in the coastal city of Tianjin, near Beijing, TUTRIC manufactures 35,000 tonnes of OTR and agricultural tyres per year. The TUTRIC factory at Tianjin covers an area of 480,000sqm, employing more than 1,000 people. Zhongce says the acquisition is the next step in its continued global expansion. The manufacturer is China’s largest tyre-maker, and the world’s ninth biggest in Tyres & Accessories’ 2021 ranking.
Hyundai Commercial Vehicle has worked with ZC Rubber in China for some time now, and the tyre maker now reports supplying new patterns and sizes from its truck tyre ranges for various Hyundai long-haul truck models in this market. Models receiving original equipment ZC Rubber tyres include the Hyundai Hongtu EV, a fully electric light truck, and the Hyundai Xcient.
Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd (ZC Rubber) has opened a facility in Germany to support its global original equipment development and to work with key OE accounts in the region. The Europe Technical Center (ETC) is located in Hannover and began operations on 1 November. Two key members of the team, Martin Wells and Jörn Tietjens, join the company from Giti Tire and bring with them considerable OE experience, particularly with Volkswagen Group.
Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) is planning to use 5G technology to create a Smart Factory platform for the tyre industry. China’s largest tyre manufacturer says the replicable 5G Smart Factory platform will “promote data network platform innovation and data-driven production process reengineering.” It also says the initiative will enhance “core competitiveness and corporate value through network collaboration, flexible production, and service extension.” The project is currently “in progress and has not yet been officially implemented,” but ZC Rubber plans to implement the concept in its pilot “Future Factory” which is currently under construction. It ultimately wants to extend the technological approach by applying it to more of its factories. ZC Rubber’s headline forecasts indicating the Smart Factory’s predicted benefits include a 15 per cent increase in production efficiency and a need for 70 per cent fewer staff versus existing tyre factory models.
Changan, one of China’s top-selling domestic automotive brands, has unveiled its first all-electric model, the C385. Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) is supplying original equipment tyres to the new electric Changan, which will wear the SU318a all-season tyre in size 245/45 R19.
Westlake Tyre has launched a new global website. Westlaketyre.com features “a more intuitive and responsive user interface, is optimized for various digital devices such as PC, smartphones, and tablets”, according to the company. Regionalised multilingual versions of the website will be available “for each region” in the coming months.
Chinese car maker BYD debuted its new EA1 electric hatchback at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show, and ZC Rubber is proud to share that the car was unveiled with Chaoyang tyres as original equipment. The EA1 wears Chaoyang RP76 tyres in size 195/60 R16.
ZC Rubber hosted its first Global Online Dealer Conference on 19 March. The theme of this event was ‘Innovate into The Great Future’, and conference speakers outlined the company’s strategic vision and plans for continued growth in 2021 and also introduced its latest products, technologies, and services.
Lockdown has spurred many companies on to greater creativity in how they market and sell their products, and ZC Rubber is no exception. The tyre maker has launched virtual showrooms for its Westlake, Goodride and Arisun brands, giving visitors a 360-degree experience and access to more than 50 tyre products.
Good news stories have been thin on the ground of late, but when ZC Rubber describes 2020 as a “remarkable year,” it means it in the very best sense of the word. The tyre maker elaborated on why the previous 12 months were so positive at its China Distributors Conference, which took place on 30 December. As well looking back on its achievements, ZC Rubber presented its vision for further digital innovation and gave a sneak preview of products arriving in 2021.
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