Rising crude oil, steel and shipping costs are pushing tire prices up this year.
There is no escaping the rising production costs of tires around the world. Already in 2021 we saw a slight increase as Covid-19 pushed up the cost of shipping and raw materials needed for manufacturing tires.
Now comes a huge rise in the cost of crude oil because of the European conflict, which is one of the main ingredients in tire production.
A number of tire manufacturers have increased their prices in the last 12 months, due to a variety of factors in an eventful year for the tire industry. However, the slow movement upwards has left many car owners unaware as tires are not bought every year and most buyers swap brands and will be left unaware of small 5 to 15 percent price changes.
Additionally, ocean freight rates have spiked in 2021, especially affecting tires imported from Japan, China and France.
So, you better start looking after your tires more as they will need to last longer for you to save some money.
Meanwhile, the tire market in Asia-Pacific region has seen a steady growth of Chinese tire brands. Demand for Chinese tires has been growing across the globe and also Malaysia over the last five years, majorly due to lower prices of Chinese tires compared to established tire brands.
So as the price of Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Yokohama, Kumho and Hankook tires slowly rise in the coming months, like they have been in 2021, Chinese tire manufacturers will be making bigger in roads with lower prices and sexier tread patterns to entice younger car owners to their tires.
What are the Chinese tire brands to look out for in Malaysia?
There are definitely some Chinese tire brands to avoid but here are some of the Chinese tire brands you could consider if you are looking for an inexpensive set of new tires in the coming years.
- Aeolus. This brand offer several models of tire for different uses, this company started out in 1965 making tires for the construction industry.
- Sailun. This is a relatively new player coming to the market in 2002 and now they are selling 30 million tires a year. This tire brand has established an exclusive partnership with the Qingdao University of Science and Technology to work specifically on rubber research. Sailun is sold in over 100 countries worldwide.
- Doublestar. This is now the largest tire company in China producing tires for all types of vehicles.
- Linglong. You might have already seen this on many imported from China vehicles. This is one of the largest Chinese tires manufacturers producing 50 million tires a year and aiming to make it big on the world stage and reach an output of 90 million tires per year by the end of 2020.
- Roadone. Already well known in Malaysia logistics industry as Roadone tires uses the all-steel radial truck tire production technology from Europe and are then adapted to Asian road conditions.
