Goodyear Adds Tyre Buyer Package in China

(Akron/Tire Review) The Shanghai Daily reported last week that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has launched a consumer tyre service plan in China, responding to a similar scheme unveiled by Groupe Michelin earlier in the week. Much like Michelin’s plan, Goodyear will offer Chinese tyre buyers a two-year package that includes 24-hour roadside assistance, flat tyre repair, towing and other services.

The newspaper said that Goodyear’s program may “signal the start of fierce competition in the replacement market at a time when millions of Chinese auto owners may be getting ready to retire their original treads.”

Analysts say that the replacement tyre market China will take off this year as a result of an auto-buying fever that occurred in 2003. Some two million passenger cars were sold, an increase of 75% from a year earlier, and many will be needing new tyres.