European Tire Market Shows Mixed Results in 2024

European domestic tire manufacturers demonstrated resilience in the replacement tire market during 2024, primarily driven by strong performance in the consumer tire segment. This marks a significant improvement following the negative trends observed in 2023, when the market experienced an 8% decline in consumer tires and a 17% drop in truck tires.

According to the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers' Association (ETRMA), the replacement consumer tire segment—which includes passenger cars, SUVs, and light commercial vehicles—grew by 5% in 2024, reaching 223.267 million units compared to 212.265 million in 2023. This growth was largely attributable to the all-season tire category, which surged by 16%. Winter tires also performed well with a 7% increase, while summer tires experienced a modest decline of 2%.

Truck and Agricultural Tire Segments

In contrast to the consumer segment, the truck and bus replacement tire market continued to face challenges, registering a 1% decline in full-year sales to 11.295 million units from 11.390 million in 2023. The ETRMA noted that this sector continues to be affected by growing non-pool volumes despite anti-dumping duties.

Agricultural tires benefited from favorable weather conditions, recording a 5% increase in sales to 716,000 units, up from 682,000 in 2023. Similarly, the motorcycle and scooter tire segment grew by 4% in 2024, reaching 9.026 million units compared to 8.658 million in 2023.

Original Equipment Market Struggles

The original equipment (OE) tire market faced significant headwinds in 2024. Sales of OE consumer vehicle tires from domestic manufacturers fell by 8% year-on-year due to decreased light vehicle production. The truck and bus tire segment experienced an even steeper decline of 22%, following a sharp reduction in heavy commercial vehicle production.

Economic and political uncertainties, coupled with the challenges of electrification, have negatively impacted vehicle manufacturers. This contrasts with the previous two years of growth for heavy commercial vehicles and the significant growth in light vehicles observed in 2023.

Q4 2024 Performance

The fourth quarter of 2024 showed mixed results across various sectors of the EU replacement tire industry. The consumer tire segment posted impressive growth of 12% year-on-year, while the truck and bus tire sector managed modest growth of 4%. Farm tires grew by 12%, and the motorcycle and scooter segment surged by 18% compared to the same period in 2023.

Import Trends

Truck and Bus Tires

Truck and bus tire imports to the EU27+UK from outside Europe increased by 3% year-on-year in the first eleven months of 2024, and were 23% higher than the same period in 2019.

Thailand maintained its position as the leading importer, although both volumes and import share decreased from January to November 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Vietnam showed remarkable growth, with volumes increasing by over 25% year-on-year, adding 1.1 million units since 2019, firmly establishing itself as the second-largest source ahead of China.

Despite this, China increased its volumes and regained some market share in 2024. Conversely, South Korea and Japan lost market share, with Egypt rising to become the fourth-largest importer.

Passenger Car and Light Truck Tires

Imports of passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tires into Europe (EU27 plus UK) rose by 17% in the first eleven months of 2024. Chinese imports increased by 17% year-on-year and have grown by over 50% since 2019, adding 38 million additional units.

South Korean imports performed strongly in 2024, up 32% from 2023. India showed impressive growth, with imports increasing by 30% in 2024, and nearly tripling since 2019, albeit from a low base. During the same period, Japan and Thailand experienced a decline in both volumes and market share.

The ETRMA attributes the increase in imports to both supply and demand factors. European tire production costs have risen significantly since 2019 compared to those in Asia, affecting energy, labor, and other inputs. Additionally, pressure on household budgets from high inflation and increased interest rates has led some consumers to opt for lower-cost imported tires.

Regulatory Measures

In response to economic challenges and to protect domestic manufacturers from unfair competition, the European Commission has extended anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese truck and bus tires. Announced on January 16, 2025, these tariffs—ranging from €21.12 to €78.90 per tire—will remain in effect until at least January 16, 2030.

The EU initially imposed these tariffs in 2018 following complaints about Chinese manufacturers dumping products in the European market at below-production costs. After legal challenges led to a temporary annulment in 2022, the European Commission reinstated the duties in 2023, citing persistent state-backed subsidies and unfair pricing strategies by Chinese producers.

The Commission emphasized that removing the tariffs would likely result in a surge of unfairly priced Chinese imports, threatening European jobs, investment, and the viability of domestic manufacturers.

Source: Analysis based on an a publication by Helixtap Technologies.