Bridgestone to discontinue truck & bus tire OE business in China

London – Bridgestone Corp. will discontinue its truck & bus original equipment (OE) tire business in China by the end of 2023, the Japanese group has told ERJ.

The decision follows a “significant decline in production and sales” of truck & bus OE tires in the country, said Bridgestone in a 28 Sept statement.

The group said it made “many internal efforts to optimise production capacity and reduce costs” but has not been able to improve the situation.

“Therefore, it is no longer viable to continue our truck & bus OE tire business,” it added.

Bridgestone, however, said that it will continue to produce and sell truck & bus tires in China for the replacement market, noting its “unwavering long-term commitment to the Chinese market”.

“We also maintain our optimism in the growing premium passenger car market and will focus on developing our strengths and competitiveness in these segments,” the statement added.

In late 2021, Bridgestone closed its production facility in Huizhou, one of its two TBR tire production plants in China (ERJ report).

The plant had a nameplate capacity to produce 4,400 units of tire per day and employs 800 people.

Bridgestone currently operates one TBR production facility in Shenyang, in northeastern China, with the capacity to produce 2,800 tires per day. The facility employs 518 people.