2013 European replacement tyre market stabilises after a rough start

The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) has published figures concerning its members’ sales in 2013. After a 2012 which registered a substantial contraction in the market (with a double digit drop in sales for all the segments) and a very slow beginning of the year, 2013 showed timid signs of recovery that were consolidated towards the end of the year.

Despite the market having stabilised, not all segments have enjoyed the same level of recovery.

The Consumer’s tyre segment is the one that had the worst performance and registered a -1% decrease in sales, compared to the already negative previous year. When analysing country data, this descending slope is confirmed by Germany – the biggest European Market – and by Poland. However, signs of recovery were evident in other major markets such as France, Italy, the UK and Spain.

With regard to the truck and bus segment, the increase in sales has been more evident with a +8% growth compared to the previous year. “2012 had been a particularly bad year for this segment which lost 19% compared to 2011. The departure level was therefore very low and a return to growth was strongly hoped for” said Mrs Fazilet Cinaralp, Secretary General of ETRMA.

Trade data in these two segments confirms a domination of imports from China, which remain as high as 40% of total imports for consumer tyres and are increasing significantly in the truck segment. In general, imports are growing in all categories and especially in the truck segment, where they constitute about 20% of the total European market.

The Agricultural and motorcycle markets showed a somewhat stable performance compared to 2012 with a 1% and 2% growth, respectively. This stability only confirms the very low sales of 2012 and a full recovery is yet to be made for these two segments.

“2013 was clearly not a year of boom on the tyre market, but sales data show a consolidation of the market and a return to growth after such a negative 2012. It is our hope that this trend will be confirmed by 2014, for which we could expect 2 to 3% growth”.