Chinese tires pick up pace in overseas markets

Tires made in China are welcomed worldwide, with exports recording an increase in the first 11 months of this year.

Data from General Administration of Customs shows that the export of rubber tires reached 8.51 million tons during this period, growing 4.8 percent year-on-year, and the export value reached 149.9 billion yuan ($20.54 billion), marking a 5 percent increase year-on-year.

The rising exports of tires indicate that China's competitiveness in this sector is improving in the global market, said Liu Kun, a research fellow at the Finance Research Institute of University of Jinan, as cited by Securities Daily.

The quality of China's tire products continues to improve as the country's automobile supply chain is being completed, and the price advantage is becoming more apparent, which results in domestic tires being favored by an increasing number of international consumers, Liu said.

The continuous innovation and technological progress is also an important factor in promoting export growth of China's tire industry, Liu added.

Europe, the Middle East and North America are the main export destinations for Chinese tires, and the increasing demand from these regions due to China's tire products has high-quality and high cost-performance ratio, said Zhu Zhiwei, a tire industry analyst at industry website Oilchem.net.

In Europe, inflation has led to frequent price increases for local brand tires; however, Chinese tires, known for their high cost-performance ratio, have won over the foreign consumer market, said Zhu.

Although China's tire products have won recognition in more overseas markets, their exports still face some challenges, such as tariff investigations and shipping price fluctuations, said Liu. For these reasons, a growing number of Chinese tire manufacturers have started to set up factories overseas, including in Pakistan, Mexico, Serbia, and Morocco.

Moreover, some Chinese tire manufacturers are setting up factories in Southeast Asia, considering that the region is close to natural rubber-producing areas and can also avoid trade barriers, Zhu said.

Setting up factories overseas can help Chinese tire enterprises implement their globalization strategy; however, as multinational investment, these enterprises also need to consider geopolitics, local laws and regulations, production technology, and supply chain management, Liu said.