Sumitomo Rubber to terminate China truck & bus tire operations

Changshu, China – Sumitomo Rubber (China) Co. has announced plans to terminate its truck & bus tire operations in China from next year.

In a Chinese-language statement 22 Aug, the maker of Dunlop-branded truck and bus tires said it would “no longer produce and sell truck and bus tires for the Chinese market” as of 2023.

And, from April 2024, Sumitomo Rubber China will no longer produce truck and bus tires for overseas markets, according to the company's annuoncement.

Aftersales services will continue until 2025.

With the decision, the company will ‘fully concentrate its resources to respond to market changes’, and further focus on the R&D and production of passenger car tires.

In particular, Sumitomo Rubber China said it will focus on new-energy vehicles and their aftermarket services in-line with China's energy transition.

With consumer demand for replacement tires for passenger cars on the rise, Sumitomo Rubber said the new strategy will help it “take a faster pace on the new-energy track.”

According to ERJ’s Global Tire Report 2021, Sumitomo Rubber operates two production facilities in China.

Operational since 2004, the company’s Changshu City facility in Jiangsu manufactures 7.2 kilotonnes per month of passenger car and light vehicle radial tires (PCR) as well as truck and bus radial tires.

The company's Hunan facility manufactures just under 3 kilotonnes per month of PCR tires.