Hubtrac’s European division has long spoken of plans to position Hubtrac not just as a tyre brand but as a “fleet management expert”. That can’t happen without the company’s Hubtrac distributors across Europe. Moving forward, the goal is to “commit to providing comprehensive, intelligent fleet management solutions for truck and bus fleets across the continent”.
In 2025, Hubtrac plans to enter the U.S. market through both online and offline channels, offering 24/7 tyre replacement and maintenance services. Following the completion of its Serbia production base, the Hubtrac brand has announced that tyres made by its German and US design teams are being specifically tailored for the U.S. market.
Total investment in the Hubtrac brand’s European production base in Serbia will now total over 1.5 billion euros after company representatives confirmed that it will receive an additional $645 million of investment. The additional funds will be used to launch the second phase of the factory’s expansion project. Once completed, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 1.1 million high-performance radial tyres, including 800,000 commercial vehicle tyres, 50,000 engineering radial tyres, 150,000 agricultural radial tyres, and 100,000 retreaded tyres.
Hubtrac has announced a strategic partnership with Magri Group, a major Italian tyre distributor. The collaboration will bring Hubtrac tyres to the Italian market and is designed strengthen Hubtrac’s European presence. Hubtrac representatives reported that they are excited to partner with Magri Group’s extensive network.
Hubtrac Tires Europe’s sales division has raised its sales forecast for the third quarter of 2024. According to the company, executives of which Tyres & Accessories met with during the recent Tire Cologne exhibition, the revision is primarily driven by “the strategic geographical advantage of its top-tier production plant in Serbia and the recent sharp increase in shipping prices from China and Southeast Asia to Europe”.
On 1 August 2023, the Hubtrac tyre brand relocated its European operational headquarters and production facilities to Serbia. Strategic departments were inaugurated in the UK and Germany, marking the completion of a Europe-centric operational structure. The goal? The establishment of an undeniably European tyre brand alongside the already-established product R&D centre in Germany. According to the company, “this strategic shift heralds the dawn of a new era.” Tyres & Accessories met with the director of the Hubtrac brand and marketing department, Edward Xu, in order to learn more.
If you design your products in Germany and manufacture them in Serbia, in what sense are they Chinese tyres? A question anyone interested in Linglong’s Hubtrac tyre brand must address. During the recent Tire Cologne exhibition, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Hubtrac UK general manager Dr Edward Xu in order to engage with that particular question and find out more about Linglong’s progress in Europe and beyond.
The first tyres may only just have rolled offer the Serbia factory’s production line, but as part of its ongoing plans to increase market share in the European tyre market, Linglong is currently rolling out its Hubtrac designed-in-Germany, made-in-Serbia truck tyre range. One part of that strategy is supply strategic customers across the country. And those include key fleets.
The first tyre manufactured at Linglong’s Serbian factory – an “all steel radial truck and bus tyre” – rolled off the production line at 6:58am on 27 June 2022 China time (23:58 European time). Whatever the precise time, production on 27 June fulfils Linglong Tire chairman Wang Feng’s commitment that the factory would enter its initial manufacturing phase before the end of the first half of 2022.
Hubtrac’s global management team has announced that it will increase sales expectations for the fourth quarter of 2021 and complete “the latest market positioning and orientation of Hubtrac tyres by the end of the year.”
Towards the end of last year, Linglong Tire announced it would bring its new Hubtrac tyre brand to Europe. The tyre maker also intends to sell this commercial range in the USA, taking advantage of its production site in Thailand and under-construction facility in Serbia to avoid the country’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese products.
Linglong Tire brought its Hubtrac brand to market in October 2020. The release will see more than 150 stock-keeping units (SKUs) launched in European market in stages. The new brand will be produced at Linglong’s global production bases including its Thailand and Serbia plants. The European market-orientated range has been designed with the forthcoming 2021 tyre labelling update and enhanced retreadability in mind.
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Chris Anthony; Tyre Industry Publications Ltd
Kortimed
Linglong
CNES, Maxar Technologies, Airbus
Zrenjanin city government