Tyre market due shake-up

Emerging Asian makers are pushing premium brands, admits Pirelli

- WILL RIMELL

A wave of emerging brands is set to enact the biggest shake-up of the premium tyre sector in a generation, the boss of Pirelli has told Autocar.

This impending push, especially from the Chinese market, is facilitated by the ability of the newcomers to "quickly catch up, both in quantity and quality terms", said Pierangelo Misani.

"In the past, we were used to looking at the traditional competitors, but today we have to have a wider view. We can't neglect that there are newcomers, especially from Asia, or China itself, that are extremely aggressive and are progressing fast," he said.

"It isn't just a matter of innovation only but [also] a matter of speed of innovation, so they're catching up."

A prime example is Chinese company Triangle. A decade ago, it was used as "a typical economy alternative" by major European rivals when demonstrating new premium tyres. Now it has launched its own high-performance Sportex range and is being tipped as one of the industry's future leading brands.