Sales of summer tires in the Russian Federation have been growing rapidly since the beginning of the tire changing season.

Sales of summer tires in the Russian Federation have been actively growing since the beginning of the tire change season: in March alone, sales increased fivefold, continuing to increase in early April, Avito calculated. Average prices are not growing, which the platform explains by expanding the range. This year’s sales were 21% higher than last year – this year is the time to change tires for customers who bought a car in the high 2021 market.

Sales of new summer tires over the past month increased by 21% year-on-year and five times compared to February, Avito calculated. At the same time, sales of used tires on the platform increased by 5.4 times by February, and year-on-year for the first time in the last few years decreased – by 10%. “We are seeing a redistribution of sales from used to new – Asian manufacturers were able to offer options at affordable prices,” explains Alexander Kuroptev, senior director of the Automotive Products business area at Avito. Therefore, motorists increasingly prefer not to buy European tires secondhand, but to buy new Chinese or South Korean ones at the same price.

By the beginning of March, tire sales intensified throughout Russia amid anticipation of the tire change season. The CRPT told Kommersant that the growth in sales of summer tires in monthly terms began back in February. At the beginning of last week, April 1, the capital’s department of transport recommended changing tires from winter to summer.

In the first week of April, sales of summer tires on Avito continued to grow, increasing by 27%. People began to buy new tires more actively by 26%, and second-hand tires by 27%, the company says. At the same time, average prices in April even decreased compared to the end of March: used tires became cheaper by 7.4% (average price – 11.4 thousand rubles), new ones – by 2% (up to 34.3 thousand rubles. ). The average price also decreased in March: according to Avito, by 10% compared to February due to an increase in the range. Prices have increased year on year – for example, by 11% on average for a set of new tires (37 thousand rubles). As Ikon Tires and Pirelli told Kommersant, the dynamics of tire prices depends on the price of raw materials. Cordiant pointed out that in the wholesale segment, Russian manufacturers behaved conservatively, while suppliers of imported tires assessed the potential for price increases differently – up to 30–35%

The most popular brands in the new summer tire segment in March were Asian brands. Thus, 8.7% of sales on Avito came from the Chinese Triangle (the average cost of a set is 27.4 thousand rubles). In second place is Pirelli (production in the Russian Federation) with a share of 7.9% and an average price per set of 35.9 thousand rubles. In third place is South Korean Kumho (5.5%, 40.5 thousand rubles).

Imports of tires into the Russian Federation have been growing since the beginning of the crisis and against the backdrop of the suspension of local production facilities of foreign manufacturers. Thus, in 2023 alone, imports increased by 37%, amounting to 29.8 million units, of which 19.2 million units were passenger tires, according to the CRPT estimate. However, over the past year, Russian companies have bought out factories of foreign companies in the Russian Federation. Thus, Tatneft bought the Nokian Tires plant in St. Petersburg – now Ikon Tires, and S8 Capital – the Russian Cordiant, the Continental (now Gislaved) plants in Kaluga and Bridgestone in Ulyanovsk. Companies with factories in the Russian Federation note an increase in the volume of tire shipments to the domestic market this year.

The increase in sales compared to last year can also be explained by the timing of changing tires for cars purchased in 2021—the general director of the Cordiant company, Vadim Volodin, told Kommersant about the role of this factor (see Kommersant-Online, March 30). Sergei Udalov from Avtostat notes that in 2021, sales of new cars were indeed at a high level, and some owners of these cars will approach changing tires this year. But, he adds, at the same time there is some pent-up demand from owners of cars from previous years, who postponed the purchase due to a lack of supply in 2022-2023. Now, the analyst believes, the range of supply has increased, including as factories in the Russian Federation are restarting, which makes it possible to satisfy pent-up demand.

Olga Nikitina