How much will it cost to change tires in 2024?

The season for changing car tires begins in Central Russia. Kommersant looked into when it is best to change tires, how prices for tires and tire fitting have changed, and what is happening with the supply of summer tires this year.

The demand for summer tires in Russia is actively growing. According to Avito analysts, sales of new summer tires on the platform in March increased by 5.1 times compared to February, and used tires by 5.4 times. The CRPT (operator of the “Honest Sign” labeling system) says that the demand for summer tires began to actively grow in February: sales were 98% higher than in January. “And in the first two weeks of March this year, more summer tires were sold in the country than in the entire February 2024,” they add.

According to technical regulations, winter tires are required only in December-January. At the same time, experts interviewed by Kommersant remind us that there is no need to rush to change tires.

“It is recommended to change tires from winter to summer when the average daily temperature does not fall below 5°C, and there is no longer snow and ice on the roads,” notes Alexander Kuroptev, head of the “Spare parts” category at Avito. “While at night the thermometer shows minus temperature, there is no need to rush: summer tires harden in the cold, which makes the car brake worse.”

Director of the Avtodom Altufyevo service Roman Timashov notes that in the Moscow region there is still a lot of snow outside the city. At the same time, in St. Petersburg there was significantly less snow in mid-March, “so activity may vary depending on the region.” In a number of regions, the demand for tire fitting actually intensified in the week from March 18 to 24. Ilya Ivansky, head of the service department of the automotive marketplace Fresh, says that in the south of the country, for example in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, there is already a high demand for tire fitting: “In about a week the same situation will be in the Rostov region, in a couple of weeks – in the Voronezh region, in a month – in Tyumen.”

However, in most regions the active tire changing season is just beginning. “Currently, clients who have two or three cars in their family come for seasonal tire fitting. They “re-shoe” the car in advance to avoid extra charges and queues, but do not drive it until the weather warms up,” explains Nikolai Pogulyaev, owner and director of Fit Service car services. “Spring weather is very deceptive; it often freezes at night and ice forms on the roads; snowfalls in April are not uncommon. It’s not recommended to rush into changing tires,” he says. “At the same time, you shouldn’t delay changing the car’s shoes either. A timely transition to summer tires will help improve vehicle handling, reduce winter tire wear and save fuel.” The company expects customers to become more active in most regions in early April and until mid-May.

Dealers also quote similar deadlines. “So far, we have not seen a rush of demand for tire fitting in our service centers. We can expect that the demand for this service will increase significantly in early April,” says Alexey Shpikalov, director of service and spare parts at Avilon.

How much does it cost to change tires

Market participants interviewed by Kommersant call prices for tire fitting relatively stable. Alexey Shpikalov says that there has been no “noticeable growth” in the market compared to last year. “The cost is influenced by such factors as the region, the type of tires themselves, the diameter of the wheels, the quality of work of the service center specialists, etc.,” he adds. “Spring tire fitting is more systematic: the client has time to choose an offer for services or combine it with other types of repairs. We have kept the autumn price list, although in general the cost of services is rising on the market,” says Roman Timashov.

According to Ilya Ivansky, the average cost of tire fitting is growing every year, “as all services are becoming more expensive at approximately the rate of inflation.” In 2024, he estimates, prices will increase by an average of 10–15%.

Tire fitting at a car service center, performed using modern professional equipment (pneumatic lifts, torque wrenches, precision balancing equipment), will, of course, differ from the prices for the service “in garages,” agrees Oleg Bachmanov, marketing director of the international network of car service centers Fit Service. “But it is important to remember that the safety of the driver and passengers, as well as the wear of rubber, which is not cheap today, depends on the quality of the tire service. It’s definitely not worth saving on this,” he explains.

Avito Services notes that Russians are increasingly turning to professionals rather than changing seasonal tires on their own. “Over the past year, the demand for tire fitting services has grown by 15%, and at the height of the transition to summer tires – closer to April – demand is growing most noticeably, so in March, interest in the services of tire fitting specialists has grown by a third,” they say.

The average cost of replacing tires starts from 1.2 thousand rubles, calculated in the marketplace, also noting that the final cost depends on the radius of the wheel, tire profile and type of car (car or truck).

The cost of a tire fitting service is tied to the cost of a standard hour in a specific locality, adds Oleg Bachmanov. According to Fit Service, for example, in Moscow it is an average of 2.3 thousand rubles, in St. Petersburg – 2 thousand rubles, Yekaterinburg and Kazan – about 1.7 thousand rubles, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Perm – 1.6 thousand rubles, Volgograd and Ufa – 1.5 thousand rubles, in Omsk – 1.4 thousand rubles. On average, tire fitting takes from 0.7 to 1.5 standard hours, depending on the size, the company clarifies.

Tire cost

“Tire prices, of course, began to rise with the increase in demand,” says Anna Petrushina, head of the CRPT product group. “If in January the weighted average price for one summer tire was 5,656 rubles, then in February the average increased by 4%, to 5,895 rubles. The current average price of a summer tire at the beginning of March is 6,052 rubles,” she explained.

Alexander Kuroptev talks about the most active increase in demand for Chinese-made Sailun tires – 8.5 times per month. A set of four new wheels sells for an average of 24.2 thousand rubles. At the same time, in terms of sales share, the most popular summer tires in March were Pirelli, he continues, they accounted for 9% of the total amount of rubber sold on Avito. The average cost for a new set of four pieces was 30.9 thousand rubles, and a used option will cost 16.6 thousand rubles. Next come Michelin (sales share 7.4%, cost of a new set – 91.3 thousand rubles) and Continental (7% and 72.1 thousand rubles, respectively). The average bill for a set of summer tires from Fresh is 12.4 thousand rubles. All-season tires cost about 5 thousand rubles.

“The dynamics of tire prices is determined mainly by two main factors: the exchange rate and prices for the main types of raw materials and supplies,” explains Icon Tires LLC (the former Nokian Tires plant in the Russian Federation, owned by Tatneft). “The price of oil, which is quite high, determines the price of many types of petroleum products that are used in the tire industry. The combination of the above factors has led to a trend towards higher tire prices in 2024,” the company says.

“Prices in 2023 were formed based on the cost of raw materials in 2022,” Pirelli adds. “For 2024, we purchased everything at new prices, and accordingly, the price of the final product increased. The tire industry is highly dependent on raw material prices.”

It is too early to assess the price situation in retail – in the most capacious regions the season has just started, says Vadim Volodin, general director of the Cordiant company. Cordiant is owned by S8 Capital, which combines the assets of the Russian brand Cordiant, as well as the former factories of Continental and Bridgestone. At the wholesale level, Russian manufacturers behaved conservatively, he says. Suppliers of imported tires, in turn, assessed the potential for price increases in different ways – up to 30-35%, continues Mr. Volodin. “Unfortunately, while there will still be a shortage in exclusive sizes, buyers of such tires will experience a more significant increase in costs than the mass consumer,” he concludes.

Are there tires

The dealers interviewed by Kommersant do not see any difficulties with the availability of mass tire sizes on the Russian market. Russian-made tires and imports from China are now popular, says Roman Timashov: “There are European tires, but they are many times more expensive.” “Traditionally, customers who are looking for one wheel or a pair of a certain model can have problems with nuances,” he adds. “All the needs of motorists are met by Chinese and domestic manufacturers. There is a slight shortage of tires for premium cars,” agrees Ilya Ivansky.

“Due to the withdrawal of some international companies from the market, there has been a certain shortage of some items, especially in the premium segment, where supply has decreased significantly,” confirms Ikon Tires. At the same time, they clarify, Ikon Tires “has a good offer in the summer assortment of premium tires”: “We are already seeing interest in summer tires under the new Ikon Tires brand, but we can talk about the results of the season after its completion.” The company indicates that for this season they introduced Ikon tires in a wide range of sizes (R13-R22).

Pirelli says that it is shipping more tires from factories in the Russian Federation than last year, linking this “both with economic growth in general and specifically with the growth in car sales.”

“Perhaps there will be an impact of pent-up demand: this year those who delayed updating their tires last year and the year before will join,” they add. The company indicates that they have now focused all the capacities of Russian factories on production for the local market: “The volume that was previously exported now remains here – accordingly, our supply is now higher.”

Cordiant is also expected to realize pent-up demand. “In 2023, the summer tire market has not fully recovered, partly due to a shortage of supply in some standard sizes, partly due to automotive market trends,” explains Vadim Volodin. “We also expect to see customers in retail stores who bought a new car in 2021, which is a good year for the auto market,” he says. Mr. Volodin points to the growth of his own tire supply in 2024, citing, among other things, the expansion of the model range of the premium brand Gislaved (which was transferred to the company after the departure of Continental).

According to the “Honest Sign” system, in January-February, 8 million passenger summer tires entered the country’s market (both from production and from warehouses). This is almost 37% more than in the same period in 2023, the CRPT clarifies. The increase in supply there is explained by an increase in domestic production, which in January-February grew by 50% in annual terms, to more than 4 million units.

Olga Nikitina