Fewer car tyres sold in June, OE truck tyre sales higher

Demand for car and light commercial vehicle tyres in Europe declined year-on-year in June. In its monthly market update, Michelin reports that demand for both original equipment and replacement market tyres was two per cent lower compared with June 2016. The tyre maker comments that this weakening demand was driven by sell-in price increases against a backdrop of slowing sales momentum. For the year to 30 June, demand in the original equipment market was up one per cent year-on-year, while demand in the replacement segment is two per cent higher.

Sales within the commercial vehicle tyre segment were a mixed bag. According to Michelin’s information, demand for tyres in the European original equipment market in June was five per cent higher than a year earlier, while slowing fleet sales dragged replacement market demand down three per cent year-on-year. Demand in the period between January and June 2017 was up six per cent year-on-year in both the original equipment and replacement tyre markets.

The quoted figures for the European market include Turkey but exclude Russia and the CIS countries.