Production and import of tires to the Russian Federation is increasing

Tire production in Russia in the third quarter turned positive for the first time since the beginning of the crisis – 10.3 million units were produced in three months. Although last year’s low base also had an impact, factories of foreign brands that were transferred to Russian players are reaching stable production volumes, mainly of passenger tires. The situation is similar in imports, which continue to grow. For the season, mostly non-studded tires were imported and studded tires were produced. In addition, analysts say, imports traditionally cover the need for large-diameter tires.

Based on the results of January-September, the supply of tires in the Russian Federation increased by 9.3% compared to last year, reaching 56.7 million units, follows from a review of the CRPT (operator of the “Honest Sign” labeling system) and the National Scientific Center for Competence in the Field of Combating Illegal Trafficking. turnover of industrial products.

Local production remains the main source of production – 29.6 million tires were produced in the country over three quarters. Output still shows negative year-on-year dynamics (a drop of 13.3%), although its pace has slowed down. And in the third quarter, local production even exceeded the 2022 level – by 17.1%, to 10.3 million tires.

The growth is associated both with the low base of the third quarter of 2022 (after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, foreign players suspended the work of factories in the Russian Federation or reduced production volumes due to supply problems), and with changes in the tire market in 2023. Most large factories have already changed owners and adapted to new conditions. For example, the Nokian Tires plant was transferred to Tatneft and operates under the Ikon Tires brand, Continental – to the C8 Industrial Assets group (the holding also acquired the Russian Cordiant).

Local factories mainly produce passenger tires, and their production in the third quarter increased by 22.2%, to 7.7 million units, remaining at the level of the second quarter. The majority of passenger tires were winter (6.1 million). As the largest manufacturers told Kommersant, in the third quarter the companies continued to produce additional tires for the season. The peak season for changing tires is mid-October – mid-November, but pre-season sales began in September (see Kommersant, October 17).

In addition to production, the import of tires to the Russian Federation also increased in the third quarter – by 1.5 times, to 8.3 million units. Based on the results of nine months, almost 23 million tires were imported into the Russian Federation. Most of them were passenger tires – 5.5 million units in the third quarter. In addition, as noted in the CRPT, these were mainly non-studded winter tires (2.7 million units), while studded tires occupied a large share of the output.

Studded tires are leading in demand in the Russian Federation during this tire change season, Avito notes. They accounted for 68% of total sales in the category at the end of October – beginning of November. “On Avito there are now more than 2.2 million advertisements for the sale of tires for passenger cars, of which about 849 thousand, almost 40% of the total share are new products,” says Alexander Kuroptev, head of the “Spare Parts and Accessories” category .

According to Avito, the top sales of new tires include the Chinese Triangle – its share reached 7.4%. The remaining brands in the top 5 sales are Nokian, Pirelli, Yokohama, Michelin, which were produced or are being produced in the Russian Federation. Of the imported brands, the company also notes an increase in interest in Korean Hankook and Kumho (together they account for up to 5% of sales), as well as Chinese Sailun.

Sergey Udalov from Avtostat clarifies that tires of sizes R17 and above were traditionally imported into the Russian Federation, while the rest of the market was filled through local production.

In particular, brands from China supplied tires for large SUVs, he continues, and now the need for large-diameter tires is being met by Asian players. At the same time, studded tires, the analyst notes, “are really not what the local Asian markets need, so players from these countries can supply non-studded offers.” According to Chinese customs statistics, supplies of new tires to the Russian Federation in the third quarter in terms of money increased slightly – by 11%, to $463.8 million.

Olga Nikitina