Sentury Tire producing Nokian tyres for Europe

From next year, Qingdao Sentury Tire will manufacture passenger car tyres under the Nokian brand name for the Central European market. Under a recently-signed contract manufacturing agreement between Nokian Tyres plc and Qingdao Sentury Tire Co., Ltd., production of a selected range of Nokian-designed and -tested tyres will commence in the first half of 2023, with products reaching the market in the second half of the year. The Sentury Tire manufacturing site will be regularly audited according to Nokian Tyres’ quality, sustainability and safety requirements.

The collaboration between Nokian Tyres and Qingdao Sentury Tire builds on a long-term partnership and secures the availability of the company’s tyres in the Central European market. Nokian Tyres is currently in the process of “negotiating additional contract manufacturing agreements” and anticipates that its agreements will in total provide 1 to 3 million tyres annually between 2023 and 2027.

New facility & increased capacity

In addition to contract manufacturing, Nokian Tyres is advancing its efforts to increase its own production. As announced in early November, the company will invest 650 million euros in a new zero CO2 emission production site in Romania. Commercial production is scheduled to begin at the factory in 2025. At the same time, the company has continued to increase capacity at its factories in Finland and in the US.

“We have started to build the new Nokian Tyres without production in Russia, and contract manufacturing is an essential part of these plans. It complements our own production and helps us respond to demand even more quickly and flexibly. With the new factory in Romania, increasing capacity in Finland and the US and the contract manufacturing, we are laying a strong foundation for Nokian Tyres’ future growth,” says Jukka Moisio, president and chief executive officer of Nokian Tyres.