Green tyres 50% of Chinese total by 2020, projects Lanxess

In connection with its Rubber Day China, which takes place in Beijing on December 2, specialty chemicals company Lanxess has reported on a study it commissioned the Technical University of Munich to undertake. This study indicates that the proportion of ‘green tyres’ in China is likely to increase to up to 50 per cent of the entire tyre market by 2020. China, Lanxess notes, already accounts for a third of global tyre production; around 400 million passenger car tyres are produced there each year.

Lanxess aims to achieve sales in excess of one billion euros in China next year. “Greater China will continue to be a cornerstone of our fast-growing Asian business,” said Lanxess Board of Management chairman Axel C. Heitmannn. “Our technology-driven products, which enable sustainable mobility, will play a major part in achieving this sales target.” All of the German company’s 13 business units are currently present in China, at ten sites throughout the country.

Worldwide, the green tyre segment is growing at approximately 10 per cent each year, making it the fastest-growing segment in the global tyre industry. According to Lanxess, demand is being primarily driven by the growing middle class in Asia and Latin America.

Rubber Day China will be hosted in partnership with the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF). The conference will also be supported by the two Chinese industrial associations for rubber and synthetic rubbers, the German Institute of Rubber Technology (DIK), Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Qingdao University of Science and Technology (QUST). Around 350 representatives from business, academia, the media and local authorities will take part in the event.