Nokian targets sales improvement in US, central Europe

Nokia, Finland – Nokian Tyres plc is planning to significantly increase its sales in the US and central Europe over the next five years, according to CEO and president Hille Korhonen.

“We are aiming at doubling our sales in North America and growing our sales by 50% in central Europe in the next five years, as well as maintaining our market leader positions in the Nordics and Russia,” said Korhonen in Nokian’s financial results statement 31 Oct.

The currently-under-construction production facility in the US and a test centre in Spain will play a key role in Nokian’s “next stage of growth”, she added.

According to Korhonen, the construction work at Nokian’s new US factory in Dayton, Tennessee, is proceeding as planned, and commercial production is expected to begin in 2020. The test centre project in Spain is also on schedule.

To support further growth, Nokian stated that it was investing in sales & marketing in central Europe and North America and “building scalable business platforms”.

In line with its growth strategy in central Europe, Nokian launched the Powerproof and Wetproof summer tires in October.