ETRMA: All-season the big winner as tyre sales return to 2019 levels

While sales of consumer replacement tyres in Europe are once again approaching 2019 levels, the all-season tyre segment has grown significantly – primarily at the expense of winter tyre sales.

Figures released by the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association for Q2 2021 show that its members sold 50.23 million replacement consumer tyres in the three months to 30 June, one per cent more than during the corresponding quarter of 2019 and 44 per cent more than in Q2 2020.

Just over half of these were summer tyres. ETRMA members sold 27.80 million of these in the replacement market during Q2 2021; although this is 36 per cent above the sales figure for the second quarter of last year, it is six per cent fewer tyres than in Q2 2019.

With a total of 11.86 million all-season and winter tyres sold by ETRMA members in Q2 2021, the market for these products was approximately the same size (+1.3%) as two years earlier. But what has notably changed since 2019 is the respective share each product holds: Whereas all-season tyres accounted for 34 per cent of ETRMA members’ total cold weather tyre sales in Q2 2019, two years later these represented 46 per cent, with 5.45 million units sold alongside 6.41 million replacement winter consumer tyres. Sales of all-season tyres thus rose 37 per cent between Q2 2019 and 2021, whilst winter tyre sales decreased 17 per cent during this period.

Truck tyres

According to ETRMA, its members sold a total of 3.22 million replacement truck tyres in Q2 2021. This represents a nine per cent improvement over the corresponding quarter of 2019 and a 42 per cent increase on last year.

Agricultural tyres

ETRMA members reported a modest rise in replacement agricultural tyre sales compared with 2019 figures. Sales of 314,000 units were two per cent higher than in Q2 2019 and six per cent above Q2 2020.

Moto & scooter tyres

Sales of 2.81 million motorcycle and scooter tyres in Q2 2021 represent a four per cent increase over the second quarter of 2019, and a 41 per cent year-on-year improvement.

The world is starting to move again

“The second quarter positive results in all the segments are very promising for the recovery of the tyre industry and for the society. We are relieved and confident to see that, also thanks to the vaccine campaign, the world is restarting to move again”, says Fazilet Cinaralp, ETRMA secretary general.