China to focus on green tyre output over coming three years

Fan Rende, chairman of the China Rubber Industry Association, shares that China has launched a plan to develop ‘green’ tyres. The plan calls for half of China’s tyre makers to be capable of manufacturing fuel-efficient tyres by the end of the country’s current five year guideline in December 2015, and for half of these tyre makers’ output to be green tyres by the same date.

Accompanying this plan will be a national standard. According to Fan, the CRIA is pushing for China to adopt a standard that, in addition to addressing the country’s own energy saving and environmental issues, will accommodate international regulations such as the EU tyre label and Reach. Selected tyre makers are expected to receive state subsidies in order to upgrade their technology; another aim may be to consolidate China’s tyre industry. The CRIA says China’s standards and label scheme will be introduced in stages, with voluntary standards being followed by mandatory. China may adopt the standards model used in South Korea, although it would utilise the limits and categories used in the EU standards.

Yue Chunchen, general manager of CRIA member Double Coin Holdings, comments that a unified standard is the first thing China needs when promoting the development of green tyres. He opines that this standard should combine the characteristics of the Chinese market while meeting international standards, and should cover two components, namely green manufacturing and the tyre itself.