Report: Costa Rica tyre market on the up

The tyre market in Costa Rica is forecast to grow during the next few year due to “expanding vehicle fleet and upcoming government reforms to boost growth in construction and transportation sector”, according to the “Costa Rica Tyre Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020” report published by TechSci.

The paper’s authors report that Bridgestone Tyre is the only leading tyre company that operates a tyre manufacturing facility in the country. Other major tyre players rely on the import route to sell their tyres in Costa Rica. Perhaps for the same reason, despite considerable penetration of low cost Chinese tyres in the country, the leading international tyre majors are expected to continue their domination in the Costa Rican tyre market.

In 2014, passenger car tyres represented around 50 per cent of sales volumes, followed by two-wheeler tyres, light commercial vehicle tyres, OTR tyres, and medium and heavy commercial vehicle tyre segments. With rising government focus on infrastructure and transportation sector, and with the long term National Transportation Plan, it is forecast that Costa Rica will witness a boom in the construction and industrial sectors, which in turn is expected to fuel growth in automotive industry, and consequently, the tyre industry in the country.