Pirelli to double China PCR output

An article printed in the China Daily states that Pirelli will double passenger car tyre production at its Shandong Province plant through a US$200 million investment. Pirelli Asia Pacific CEO Gregorio Borgo is quoted as saying the expansion is necessary due to potential domestic market demand for both passenger car and 4×4 tyres.

“By 2014, our manufacturing base in Yanzhou, Shandong province, the only one in Asia-Pacific, will become the biggest in the world for Pirelli,” China Daily reported Borgo as saying. “From 2012 to 2014, we are investing around $200 million in China, the world’s largest vehicle market.”

The Italian firm established its Yanzhou factory in 2005, and today the plant produces both truck tyres and 5 million passenger car tyres per annum. “We hope to double that production capacity of passenger car tyres to 10 million by the end of 2014,” Borgo said. The $200 million investment will also go towards extending Pirelli’s dealer network within China. Borgo elaborates: “We have seen strong consumption growth in second- and third-tier Chinese cities, and so we will increase our distribution coverage beyond first-tier cities and provide more end user access to our products.”