Tyres Europe highlights ‘critical importance’ of tire industry to EU

Brussels – Tires manufactured in the EU potentially enabled €572 billion of economic activity across key customer industries last year, according to a major new industry study prepared by Oxford Economics.

Titled ‘Critical importance of the European tire industry’ and commissioned by Tyres Europe, the study estimated that EU-made tires supported 6.1 million jobs and €250 billion in tax revenues in 2024.

The study, published 28 Sept, described tires as “safety-critical products” and a “strategic component” of the EU's industrial and mobility ecosystem.

According to the report, 322 million tires were manufactured in the EU during 2024, of which 80% were passenger car tires and 15% commercial vehicle tires.

Passenger car tires accounted for €15 billion, or 54%, of the industry's €27.6 billion production value, while commercial vehicle tires represented €10.4 billion, or 38%.

Motorcycle and bicycle tires contributed €400 million, with tires for other vehicles and equipment contributing €1.7 billion, the study found.

According to the study, EU-produced tires sold into the passenger car sector potentially enabled €443 billion of GDP in 2024, alongside 4.7 million jobs.

Commercial tires, meanwhile, were estimated to have contributed €126 billion to the European GDP and 1.4 million jobs, while farm tires accounted for a smaller €3.2 billion GDP contribution, alongside 35,600 jobs.

Across the three sectors, the report estimated that the EU tire manufacturing industry potentially enabled a €572 billion contribution to EU GDP and an estimated 6.1 million jobs in 2024.

The GDP and employment contributions were equal to 3.2% of EU GDP and 2.8% of the EU labour force in 2024, respectively.

Overall, including the customer sectors enabled by EU tires, the industry is estimated to have supported a total tax contribution of €250 billion across the EU, equal to 3.3% of government revenue across the 27 EU member states in 2024.

The findings are in addition to the industry's own economic footprint, previously estimated by Oxford Economics at €43.9 billion of GDP, 498,000 jobs and €12.2 billion in tax revenues. (ERJ report)

The latest study estimated that six “heavily reliant” tire-using sectors – construction, agriculture, road and air freight, passenger transport by road, postal and courier services, and passenger aviation – directly supported €1.5 trillion of EU GDP and employed 30.5 million people in 2024.

“Tires are a foundational component of the EU automotive and mobility ecosystem,” the report said, adding that their economic value and “criticality to society extend well beyond the mobility industry.”

Concluding that the sector occupied a position of “critical strategic importance”, Oxford Economics said the European tire industry represented “more than a manufacturing sector”.

It was, the report said, “a strategic enabler of mobility, a foundational component of the automotive ecosystem, and a key contributor to the EU’s resilience, sustainability, and industrial competitiveness.”