European tire sales hit Q2 slowdown

Brussels –  Europe’s replacement tire market has been hit by a slowdown in the second quarter of this year, the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) has reported.

In its latest quarterly figures, published 14 July, ETRMA said member companies’ sales had slowed “significantly” compared to the first three months of the year. The negative trend affected all segments, particularly consumer tires which came in 6% lower year-on-year at 46.6 million units.

The first-half performance was better, with lesser year-on-year declines in sales of consumer tires (down 1% to around 102 million units) and agricultural tires (down 2% to 782,000 units), and a 7% gain in truck tire sales to around 4.9 million units.

This is in marked contrast with the performance of the market in the first quarter of 2017, where the replacement market saw improvements in almost every segment.

First quarter results showed a 4% rise in sales of passenger car tires at 55.4 million units in the three months to 31 March.

Additionally, the truck & bus radial (TBR) market saw an impressive 15% year-on-year rise to 2.61 million units in the first three months of the year.

* Discrepancies with data previously published is due to periodic data corrections.