47.7 million truck tyres retreaded per annum

A total of 47.7 million truck tyres are retreaded around the world each year. Pre-cure retreading accounts for 77 per cent of this figure.

As Alberto Viganò, marketing director at Pirelli’s Industrial business unit, recently shared during an event in Bologna, significant differences exist between the developed retreading markets (such as Europe, the NAFTA region and Brazil) and  less developed markets.

The priority for developing markets is to reduce the total cost of ownership through product technology and production technique, and Viganò commented that retreaders in these regions can only remain competitive by offering the right level of product and production technology, and by integrating retreading into a whole-life approach that also includes new tyres.

Retreading in less developed markets is still often qualitatively low, and therefore it is no surprised that these markets are strongly influenced by an affordable alternative to retreading – budget Chinese tyres. These products are admittedly also causing increasing concern for retreaders (and new tyre makers) in Europe.