MARKET DATA
Michelin has published its Market Trends data for March 2025, and this shows no end to the original equipment sector decline currently affecting most markets around the world, with the notable exception of China. The tables turn in the replacement sector, with China’s subdued performance counterbalanced by growth elsewhere.
The global Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) market was worth $6-8 billion in 2023 a figure that could double by 2032, according to the latest reports published by two market research firms.
The worldwide TPMS market reached a value of US$5.87 billion in 2023, according to Research and Markets. Furthermore, the market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4 per cent between 2024 and 2032 to reach a value of $13.2 billion by 2032.
15 years after our first market share survey of its kind, and almost 10 years after we identified that “the UK truck tyre market is a five-horse race”, this month we’ve taken another look at the figures and spoken to sources close to the leading players in order to provide an up-to-date snapshot of what is going on in the UK truck tyre replacement market (see pages 14 to 31 of the September magazine).
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The global advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) testing equipment market is projected to attain a valuation of US$56.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to accumulate over $202.7 billion by 2033, trailing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.6 per cent from 2023 to 2033.
The years since 2020 have brought with them more than their fair share of upheaval. However, throughout that period the growth in importance of SUV and 4×4 tyre sales has continued basically unabashed. With that in mind Tyres & Accessories asked the market research specialists at GfK for their view on the latest headline trends in the UK market. However, while this article zeroes in on the UK market, the UK market position as an established leader in the wider European market take-up of SUVs – and therefore SUV tyres – means the trends identified are also relevant across the continental tyre markets.
Challenging trading conditions persist in the UK thanks to various interlocking crises, though 2022’s replacement tyre market demonstrates the way some segments resisted the strong headwinds better than others. While overall tyre sales (units) were basically flat versus 2021, any anticipated surging recovery from a pandemic induced nadir was, broadly speaking, put off for another year. Contrastingly, the value of the overall market surged, though this effect was more due to inflation and increasing prices than a switch towards higher-value products. Having said this, the picture painted by analyst GfK’s data, based on the company’s “panelmarket” of tyre retail sell-out sources from January to December, is also one of stratification.
In the commercial vehicle (CV) sector, production rose 92.9 per cent to 6,132 units, according to the latest SMMT figures, marking the best August since 2012 and the eighth consecutive month of growth. Overseas demand was up 78.4 per cent, while production for UK operators more than doubled year-on-year, rising 119.3 per cent. Year-to-date CV output is up 50.3 per cent at 64,828 units in the best year-to-date since 2012.
Halfords Autocentres’ recent expansion into the top-table of tyre retail is indicative of a wider move towards mechanical work in tyre-orientated garages. Now, many fast fits generate somewhere around 50 per cent of their income from non-tyre business.
According to the latest SMMT data, the UK aftermarket turns over an annual £21.1 billion – making it the ninth largest in the world. And what’s more there are said to be north of 40,000 points of sale in the UK, which means the wider tyre business’s recent shift towards more mechanical work means that aftermarket space is as competitive as ever. Still, the ongoing outlook is good and the aforementioned growth figures are increasing at the same rate as the UK’s growing car parc. As a result, SMMT projections suggest the UK aftermarket sector’s value is set to rise to £28 billion by 2022.
Electric vehicles are expected to account for more than 33 per cent of new car sales worldwide by 2031, according to new research compiled by GlobalData.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales have reached record numbers in recent years, with annual sales projected to increase ten-fold in the next 15 years, especially in China and Europe, due to favourable policies and auto manufacturer commitments, according to GlobalData.
The overall trends illustrated by the most recent ETRMA tyre market data are undoubtedly useful to all parties, however some of the figures will raise eyebrows. For example, According to ETRMA’s full-year 2021 passenger car tyre data, Great Britain is the fourth-largest passenger car tyre market some way behind third-placed Italy. And is Turkey really Europe’s leading truck tyre business?
The latest European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) data suggest 2021 was “a positive year of recovery for the industry”, especially in the replacement sector. The biggest drop was in the Original Equipment (OE) consumer tyres segment (down 8 per cent) mainly due to the ongoing new vehicle chip shortage.
For the last few years Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) take-up has continued apace. Indeed, according to the latest UK vehicle registrations figures, cars that can be described as SUVs now occupy a significant portion of new vehicle market share. Indeed, the Nissan Qashqai crossover was the third most popular purchase in February 2021, according to the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). And the Volvo XC40 as well as the Volkswagen T-Roc and Tiguan also figure in the top 10. Of course, all these vehicles need tyres so there is every chance that the recent trend towards SUV tyre replacement sales is also going to continue over the next few years. But what about last year? With these trends in mind, the month’s SUV tyre feature takes a closer look the best products on the market beginning with a detailed look at the latest market data produced in association with GfK.
Global retreaded tyre sales are expected to reach US$ 8.8 billion in 2021, according to research produced by ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm Future Market Insights. According to the new report entitled “Retread Tires Market”, the increase in average miles driven and growing vehicle parc will drive the tyre aftermarket, subsequently fuelling the demand for retreaded tyres.
Check out the Retreading Special supplement that ships with the March, June and September issues of Tyres & Accessories, which you can also read here as an e-paper, for more like this. Not yet a subscriber? No problem. You can change that here.
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) published its members’ sales for the year 2020 as well as the last quarter of 2020, reporting that Covid 19 “strong affected” the market. The Original Equipment (OE) segments were said to have been “most strongly affected”, recording reductions of -23 per cent in the consumer tyre business and -18 per cent in truck tyres. That much is logical in light of the widespread closure of vehicle manufacturing under pandemic-related lockdown conditions across Europe during 2020.
5 November saw the inaugural virtual Tyre Industry Conference, with Tyres & Accessories bringing the traditional annual conference into the virtual arena due to Covid-19 restrictions. Produced in association with the NTDA and supported by Cam Systems, our expert panel was comprised of James Ward, senior insight manager, GfK; Andrea Manenti, VP north region, Bridgestone; and Pravesh Amtha, sales general manager Consumer UK&I, Goodyear. The wide-ranging 45-minute conversation covered a lot of bases, but the first session, which was designed to focus on the new tyre market’s recent trends and statistics began with a presentation from James Ward.
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ETRMA
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