ZC Rubber names new sales director for agricultural tyres in Europe
The Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) has a new sales manager for agricultural tyres in Europe. Mark Turner has taken on the role of European sales director agricultural tyres.
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.
The Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) has a new sales manager for agricultural tyres in Europe. Mark Turner has taken on the role of European sales director agricultural tyres.
On 28 December 2022, the Customs Tariff Commission of China’s State Council issued an announcement stating that from 1 January 2023, import tariffs on some commodities will be adjusted. In 2023, the products that can still enjoy preferential tariffs are retreaded tyres for aircraft. As in the previous year, such products will be subject to a provisional import duty of 4 per cent. Under normal circumstances, Chinese customs should impose a 20 per cent tariff on retreaded tyres for aircraft.
On 30 December Linglong announced that it would adjust the construction of its seventh production base in China. The construction location of the project was changed from Lujiang, Anhui, to Lu’an, Anhui. At the same time, the tyre manufacturer’s Lu’an factory is preparing to build a project with an annual output of 14 million sets of high-performance radial tyres and a project to regenerate via retreading and material recovery 30,000 tons of waste tyres. In the original design, Linglong’s seventh factory in China was intended to have an annual production capacity of 14.6 million sets of radial tyres.
According to export data released by China Customs, China exported 40.72 million “new pneumatic rubber tyres” (a term that includes all pneumatic tyres including bicycles as well as enginen-drive tyre products) in November. The exported tyres weighed 550,000 tons and were worth 9.88 billion yuan (about £1.18 billion; 1.33 billion euros).
Linglong Tire intends to have 35 per cent sustainable and renewable resources in its tyres by 2025 and 40 per cent by 2030. One source of such materials will be dandelions. The tyre maker established the Dandelion Rubber Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance in 2015, partnering with more than 20 universities, research institutes and rubber companies.
Testing, consulting, information, and compliance services firm Smithers has produced a new whitepaper reporting the effects of temperature on tyre rolling resistance. It will soon offer the whitepaper for free download on its website.
At a dealer meeting held by Aeolus on 16 December 2022, Wang Feng delivered a speech as “Chairman of China National Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (CNRC) and Chairman of Aeolus”. Wang Feng emphasised that in 2021, the sales revenue of Aeolus, Prometeon Tyre Group S.r.l. (PTG), and Pirelli ranked fifth in the world and first in China. The sales revenue of Aeolus and PTG ranked among the top three in China’s domestic industry.
Recently, China’s largest tyre manufacturer Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber (ZC Rubber) has taken an important step in the stock market listing process: The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) received the IPO application of ZC Rubber. Next, CSRC will review the materials submitted by ZC Rubber. If it passes the audit, ZC Rubber will become a listed company.
Guizhou Tyre’s wholly-owned subsidiary Advance Investment plans to invest 25.5 million yuan (about £3 million pounds; 3.45 million euros) in Qingdao Win-Win Industry Fund.
In three decisions made on 13 and 14 December 2022, the IP Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court of China found in favour of VMI and against Safe-Run in litigation related to patent ownership disputes. VMI considers these decisions a victory “for all innovators everywhere.”
At the end of 2022, China is gradually ending epidemic prevention and control, and the country’s tyre industry is keen to usher in the benefits. However, many professionals are still considering how to survive adversity during the same period, asking whether the future offers reasons for optimism. There is no doubt that we are at an important moment of historical change. With 2022 about to pass, Tyrepress China looks at the state of the business following a year of flux and crisis through the prism of ten key terms.
Recently, several tyre manufacturers have released recruitment information, which is not enough to be strong evidence that China’s tyre industry is gradually recovering. However, the recruitment information shows that some Chinese tyre companies have not hesitated in the challenging environment.
In 2022, China’s tyre industry has already carried out multiple rounds of the layout around new energy vehicles. Focusing on the product of passenger car tyres, seizing the new energy vehicle tyre market seems to be an essential strategy for significant tyre manufacturers to participate in future competition.
In order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, China has divided the entire country into two areas: high-risk areas and low-risk areas. When the Covid-19 infection is found in a particular place, the government labels it as a “high risk” area and implements stricter epidemic prevention policies. On 4 December 2022, the Sailun Dongying factory was listed as a high-risk area. A day later, on 5 December the local authority adjusted the tyre factory to a low-risk area.
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce released the “Catalogue of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Version)”. The Chinese government hopes that foreign businessmen will invest in the industries listed in the document. The trade encouragement catalogue currently in use in China was released in 2020, and the 2022 version will come into force on 1 January 2023.
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