Nokian Tyres exits Chinese market

The official Chinese website of Nokian Tyres states that the Finnish tyre manufacturer is withdrawing from business in the Chinese market due to its “limited production capacity”.

An official statement on the matter explained: “Due to limited production capacity from the impact of the international situation, Nokian Tyres announced the re-planning of its global business strategy and decided to temporarily suspend the sales and operations of Nokian Tires Trading (Shanghai) in the Chinese market. Since entering the Chinese market, we are grateful to all parties for the support of Nokian Tyres.”

Founded in 2011, Nokian Tires Trading (Shanghai) is responsible for the tyre maker’s sales and operations in the Chinese market. Nokian Tyres has not disclosed the time plan for exiting the Chinese market. Neither did it disclose how it will provide after-sales service for products that have already been sold.

Nokian Tyres’ decision to at least temporarily exit the Chinese market follows the company’s mid-2022 “controlled exit” from its Russian manufacturing in Vsevolozhsk, St. Petersburg, which has provided up to 82 per cent of the firm’s car tyre production capacity.

The latest financial results published by Nokian Tyres show the impact of poor passenger car tyre supply on the tyremaker’s bottom line. The news that Nokian can no longer serve Chinese customers underlines that point.