ETRMA: Corona crisis still hitting tyre industry hard

Although a mild improvement was seen within the truck, agricultural and two-wheeler tyre segments in the third quarter of 2020, the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) reports that the results for the first nine months of this year still show that the COVID-19 pandemic is “delivering worrying sales results for the industry.”

By the end of September 2020, ETRMA members’ sales in all product segments still lagged behind their performance a year earlier. Consumer replacement tyre sales were down 14.4 per cent year-to-date, while original equipment consumer tyre sales were 30.4 per cent lower than in January-September 2019. Truck tyre sales were down 8.0 per cent, agricultural tyre sales were 3.0 per cent lower and moto-scooter tyre sales down 11.7 per cent.

“As the numbers show, the crisis is hitting our industry quite heavily and the situation is not improving, states Fazilet Cinaralp, ETRMA secretary general. “While we hope that the pandemic situation will improve, we also underline the urgent need to find the most suitable measures to support the tyre industry in order to preserve jobs in the sector. Outlook for the end of the year remains gloomy and with a double-digit drop in sales expected across all segments.”