Michelin and Cooper face Chinese Customs penalties
Not long ago, Chinese customs imposed penalties on Michelin and Cooper (Photo: Renato Marques; Unsplash)Well-known tyre brands Michelin and Cooper have faced Chinese customs penalties since July, Tyrepress China has learned.
Now one of the largest tyre-producing countries in the world, China has an indisputable influence on the direction of global tyre trade. The home of both fast-growing up-and-coming brands as well as a burgeoning domestic market, this tag chronicles China’s involvement with the tyre business.
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Huayi Thailand’s second phase rolls off the first tyre
HuayiOn 30 August, the first tyre rolled off the production line in the second phase of the Thailand factory run by Huayi, which owns the Double Coin brand. Tyrepress China learned that the project’s second phase involves the production capacity of 300,000 all-steel radial tyres and officially started construction in March this year. If the second phase reaches capacity, the annual production capacity of Huayi’s Thailand factory will be increased to 1.5 million pieces.
Jiangsu General’s Thailand plant starts second phase
Recently, Jiangsu General announced that it will invest 1.884 billion yuan (approximately £210 million; €240 million) to launch the second phase of the Chinese tyremaker’s Thailand factory. The expansion will add 500,000 all-steel radial tyres and 6 million semi-steel radial tyres to the Thailand production base. It is worth noting that the tyre manufacturer only disclosed that the project’s construction period is 24 months but did not announce the planned start and end time.
Hankook Tire views BYD OE as important step to Chinese market
For Hankook Tire, original equipment tyre supply to the BYD T4K one-tonne electric truck is an opportunity to “further enhance its strategic relationship with BYD and solidify its presence in the Chinese market, one of the world’s largest EV markets.” BYD has jointly developed the T4K with GS Global specifically for the South Korean market, where it will wear Hankook RA08 tyres.
Shandong relaxes restrictions on new high-end tyre projects
On 17 August 2023, several government departments in Shandong Province, China jointly issued a notice relaxing regulations for establishing high-end tyre projects. A more detailed explanation is that some new tyre manufacturing projects will no longer need to eliminate the original production lines with the same energy consumption.
Leapmotor, ZC Rubber strengthen EV partnership
ZC Rubber has entered into a strategic partnership with electric vehicle manufacturer Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co Ltd (Leapmotor) to deepen their mutual cooperation in the automotive sector. ZC Rubber doesn’t share specific details about this new cooperation but notes that it builds upon the tyre maker’s role as “one of the most important original equipment partners of Leapmotor.”
The 18th CITExpo officially opens in Shanghai
On 4 September the 18th China International Tire Expo (CITExpo) officially opened in Shanghai. Tyrepress China was present and found that many well-known tyre companies, including ZC Rubber, Sailun, Prinx Chengshan, Guizhou Tyre, Doublestar, and Jiangsu General have all made appearances at this exhibition and brought their flagship products.
Birla Carbon showcasing carbon black solutions at RubberTech 2023
Birla Carbon is participating at RubberTech China 2023 from 4 – 6 September 2023 at Shanghai New International Expo Center, Shanghai, China. Birla Carbon will exhibit at Hall N3, Booth 3B459.
China’s tyre export growth slows in July
The growth trend seen in China’s tyre exports throughout 2023 continued in July, albeit at a slower rate of year-on-year growth than seen earlier in the year. China’s tyre makers exported 56.89 million tyres in July 2023, 4.7% more than a year earlier. The value of these exports increased 9.4% year-on-year, to RMB 14.02 billion (£1.5 billion).
Guizhou Tyre increases investment in Vietnam factory
Chinese manufacturer Guizhou Tyre released its semi-annual report on 22 August, providing progress updates about the production facilities it is currently building at home and overseas. The company also reported revenue of RMB 4.44 billion (£482.6 million, US$611.2 million) for the first half of 2023 and profit of RMB 340 million (£37.0 million, $46.8 million).
Continental advances phase 4 of Hefei tyre plant
ContinentalOn the afternoon of 17 August, Yu Aihua, Party Secretary of Hefei City, Anhui Province, held talks with Christian Kötz, Head of the Continental Tyres division. Tyrepress China learned that Yu and Kötz talked about “accelerating the construction of the fourth phase of the (Hefei factory) project” and planning the follow-up “automotive electronics, R&D centre project”.
Cooper Kunshan tyre factory forced to limit production
CooperIn May this year, China’s environmental protection department imposed a penalty on the Cooper Kunshan factory, restricting production on the grounds of violating the “Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law”. At the same time, the tyre manufacturing base was fined 240,000 yuan.
Davanti Tyres exhibiting at CITExpo 2023
DavantiDavanti Tyres is returning to CITExpo in Shanghai, China, exhibiting at the 2023 show. After a short break due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Davanti will showcase 17 products covering all seasons during the event which takes place 4-6 September. And what’s more, the CITExpo line-up includes previews of a number of new products.
Import glut ripples across European truck tyre market
The ups and downs of European retreading continued last year. According to current figures from the European Tire & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA), the association members retreaded and marketed a total of 4.298 million truck tyres in Europe (excluding Turkey) in 2022. This corresponds to a decline of at least 6.2 per cent compared to the previous year, but is still 4.9 per cent above the figures for the previous year. However, since the new tyre business of the ETRMA members was largely stable (down 0.5 per cent), the importance of retreaded truck tyres fell again significantly compared to the new tyre market and was only 37.2 per cent at the end of last year. The association’s figures also show something else very clearly: the EU tariff effect, which had reduced imports of truck tyres (by non-ETRMA members) for a number of years, has now completely fizzled out.
Hankook expands Chongqing factory’s TBR tyre capacity
HankookRecently, Hankook stated that it would carry out technical transformation on the TBR production line of the Chongqing factory. Specifically, the tyre manufacturer plans to invest 47 million yuan (about £5.1 million; €5.9 million) to increase the daily production capacity of TBR from 2,560 to 2,960 (annual production capacity from 900,000 to 1.036 million) within 16 months. Hankook says the project will not add new land and will be built in its existing factory workshop.
