China Tire Market Research Report: Forecast (2022-27)

Market Definition

The tire industry of China is one of the vast industries of all time at both domestic & International levels. Although it had faced challenges when the US & the European Union changed their trade policies & imposed tariffs to restrict tire exports from China, it still managed well to maintain its position in the industry.

The country began working on improving its product quality & performance, expanding its production capabilities, and scaling its export business across other regions. Hence, the tire industry hint toward the availability of several growth opportunities for the leading players in the tire industry over the coming years.

Market Insights

The China Tire Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 6.5% during the forecast period, i.e., 2022-27. The growth of the market is driven primarily by the exponentially rising population of China, its changing living standards, improving disposable income & purchasing power, and growing vehicle ownership. It is instigating automakers & tire manufacturers to increase their production capabilities to meet the burgeoning consumer demand for both automobiles & tires.

The government of China is investing substantially in the tire industry and encouraging the leading market players to stimulate the research & development of modern tires with technologically advanced features to enhance their competitiveness. In addition, the mounting focus of the government & prominent tire manufacturers on developing high-quality & performance tires to increase fuel efficiency & reduce carbon emissions is another crucial aspect anticipated to boost the market over the forecast years.

Moreover, since Electric Vehicles (EV) play a crucial role in addressing & meeting the environmental sustainability aims to reduce air pollution & climate fluctuations, the government of China is encouraging the people to adopt EVs through beneficial policy announcements. It is another crucial aspect stimulating the rollout of EVs in China & positively influencing the tire industry. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), more than 1 million EVs were sold in China in 2019. Later, in 2020, China witnessed 1.2 million EV registrations, i.e., the second-largest, after Europe.

Besides, with numerous ongoing & planned projects for infrastructure developments and agricultural purposes in the country, the demand for heavy vehicles is increasing swiftly, which, in turn, is propelling the production of robust tires. Furthermore, since China has always been a hub for different import & export businesses, its tire industry is nowhere behind. Moreover, the domestic & international export of tires is also playing a crucial role in shaping China's automotive & tire industries.

Key Trend in the China Tire Market

• Escalating Demand for High-Performance Tires

The mounting inclination of people toward sports vehicles, coupled with the rising popularity of driving on challenging terrains, are instigating automakers to manufacture high-capacity vehicles like crossovers, compact SUVs, etc. It, in turn, is generating growth opportunities for the leading players in the tire industry to manufacture high-performance tires, principally for delivering robust grips, minimal rolling resistance, reduced tread wear & improved traction, among others.

In addition, several OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are also seeking it as a lucrative to expand their foothold & visibility throughout China by offering these high-performance tires for vehicle owners. Besides, the swiftly improving living standards & purchasing power of the Chinese are other prominent aspects promoting the adoption of high-performance tires in the country. 

Impact of Covid-19 on the China Tire Market

China, the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, witnessed disastrous effects on the tire industry. With the imposition of stringent movement restrictions & lockdown to curb the virus spread, the tire industry observed several unprecedented challenges like supply chain disruptions, shut down of production facilities, restricted offline sales of tires, delivery delays & cancelations, etc., in the initial stage of the pandemic. It resulted in a steep decline in the China Tire Market's output & revenue.

Additionally, the government had to postpone the implementation of the China Six Emission Standard to January 2021, providing fiscal & taxation support, speeding up the elimination of obsolete diesel trucks, and optimizing secondhand vehicle trading channels to back automobile purchases in the country.

However, with the effective control of the pandemic in China since March 2020, its tire industry has significantly improved. At the same time, the rapid spread of the Covid-19 across other countries turned international tire enterprises into crisis. As a result, various leading tire manufacturers in China took leveraged this opportunity to scale their production capacity, vigorously explore the emerging domestic & foreign markets, and, in turn, yield enhanced profits & market share.

Later, with the gradually declining number of Covid-19 cases, the government uplifted the restrictions and allowed the recommencement of business operations while abiding by the social distancing & safety norms. It enabled the leading players in the China Tire Market to swiftly revive their production capabilities and resume export & import businesses to recover from economic losses. Consequently, the urging need to increase the production capabilities to meet the burgeoning tire demand further generated growth opportunities for the leading players in the market.

Market Segmentation

Based on the Demand Category:

• OEM
• Replacement

Amongst both demand categories, Replacement acquired the largest share of the China Tire Market, and the same trend is likely to be followed in the coming years. It owes principally to the constantly increasing vehicle sales in the country stimulating the replacement demand for tires & other vehicle components, coupled with the mounting awareness & concerns over vehicle maintenance, i.e., encouraging people to replace tires timely.

In addition, the growing number of aging cars & car stockings is another aspect instigating vehicle owners to procure tires from replacement markets across the country. Besides, the government of China is also supporting the replacement demand category for vehicle tires through its final notice of the establishment & implementation of the 'Vehicle Emission Inspection & Maintenance (I/M) Program' to shape & accelerate the replacement tire market in the coming years.

Based on the Type of Vehicle:

• Passenger Car
• Light Commercial Vehicle
• Buses & Trucks
• Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles
• Off the Road (OTR)
• Two Wheelers
• Three Wheeler

Of them all, Passenger Cars dominated the China Tire Market with the largest share in recent years. It attributes principally to massive sales of passenger cars in the country, coupled with its extensive export business for these vehicles across numerous countries, thereby directly & positively influencing the tire industry. The number of passenger cars sold in China back in 2019 was more than that sold in the US, Germany, & Japan combined.

Moreover, effective since January 2022, the National Development & Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce in China uplifted the investment restrictions on manufacturing passenger cars & eliminated the need for a joint venture. It, in turn, is enabling foreign automakers to have full ownership of their car production facilities in China and playing a crucial role in stimulating the automotive & tire industries' growth.

Market Dynamics:

Key Driver: Low Production Cost of Tires & a Substantial Export Business

Since China has a low production cost for tires & continuous sales of passenger vehicles, the demand for tires is extensive in the country & attracting several prominent tire manufacturers to enter the tire industry. Additionally, the upliftment of foreign investments in manufacturing passenger vehicles and the massive export business of China also drive the China Tire Market. 

Possible Restraint: Trade Wars in China

Tensions between China & the US have resulted in a dilemma in the exports of Chinese tires, thereby possibly hindering the China Tire Market during 2022-27. Additionally, the anti-dumping & anti-subsidy duties by the European Union & US Department of Commerce on the Chinese truck tires is another aspect that might hinder the market growth in the coming years.

Growth Opportunity: Integration of Technological Advancements & the Advent of Smart Tires

Since China is among the early adopters of technology and seeks to bring advancements in tire technology, the leading players in the China Tire Market are anticipated to witness numerous growth opportunities during the forecast period. The government is investing substantially in the research & development of tires laced with high-tech mechanisms, including IoT sensors. Additionally, the development of Smart tires to generate crucial information about vehicles & surroundings to determine the vehicle & tire condition shall further generate significant growth opportunities for the leading market players through 2027.

Key Questions Answered in the Market Research Report:

1. What are the overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares) of the China Tire Market?
2. What are the region-wise industry size, growth drivers, and challenges?
3. What are the key innovations, opportunities, current & future trends, and regulations in the China Tire Market?
4. Who are the key competitors, their key strengths & weaknesses, and how do they perform in the China Tire Market based on the competitive benchmarking matrix?
5. What are the key results derived from surveys conducted during the China Tire Market study?