Global Tire Companies Compete for Dominance in the OTR Market
Chinese tire companies continue to exert their strength at the Bauma China 2024 exhibition. At present, the TBR tire market has been “fully occupied” by Chinese tire companies. In the next step, they will seize more market share in the PCR tire market. The PCR and TBR markets are highly competitive, and tire companies are flocking to the OTR tire market.
I. OTR tires manufacturers gather at Bauma China
From November 26 to 29, 2024, bauma CHINA 2024 was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. As an important event in the global construction machinery industry, this exhibition brought together more than 3,400 exhibitors from more than 130 countries and regions around the world, presenting the technological innovation direction and achievements of the global construction machinery industry in all aspects. During the exhibition, many tire companies showed their style.
Chaoyang Tire at Bauma China 2024
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Chaoyang Tire brought its off-road tire (OTR) products to the Bauma China exhibition. Among them are all-steel loader tires with unidirectional treads; all-steel mining dump truck tires suitable for short-distance transportation on harsh roads; all-steel smooth tires for underground mining; off-road forklift tires with excellent wear resistance, as well as bias industrial forklift tires and port tires specially designed for port machinery equipment vehicles.
Sailun Tire at bauma china
Sailun Group’s MAXAM brand of engineering machinery tire products were all unveiled, and the high-performance engineering radial tire using the world’s first liquid gold new material was launched. Sailun demonstrated the outstanding strength of Chinese tire brands in the field of engineering machinery to global users with cutting-edge technology and innovative achievements.
Sailun Tire’s existing factories in Qingdao and Weifang produce 160,000 tons of off-road tires annually, and 100,000 tons annually in Vietnam; there are also plans for a 37,000 tons/year off-road tire project in Indonesia. As the off-road tire market improves, more tire companies are releasing their off-road tire production capacity.
Triangle Tire at bauma china shanghai
As a core supplier of domestic construction machinery, Triangle Tire shines at the booths of many OEM such as Caterpillar, Shandong Lingong, Longgong Machinery, Sany Group, Shantui, etc. Various high-end models are equipped with Triangle off-highway products, which shows that the market and customers highly recognize the high-end quality of Triangle Tire. International manufacturers such as Volvo, Komatsu, Hyundai, Liebherr, etc. are also important supporting partners of Triangle.
According to reports, Triangle Tire has the manufacturing capacity to produce 230,000 bias engineering tires, 150,000 radial engineering tires (covering eight types of engineering machinery), and 2,000 jumbo radial engineering tires (with the largest size being 63 inches).
Guizhou Tire at Bauma Shanghai
The tires brought by Guizhou Tire at the Bauma China show focus on safety performance, with lower tire repair rate, longer service life, and superior grip.
The main specifications exhibited are:
14.00-24-28
24R21-16
16.00R25
23.5R25
and other commonly used matching specifications for various engineering vehicles.
As a leading domestic large-sized tire enterprise, Guizhou has always performed well in the OTR tire market, and the company’s OTR production capacity is considerable.
Forlander Tire at Bauma China 2024
There are many domestic tire companies investing in the OTR market. On November 10, 2023, Shandong Lander Tire’s high-performance giant engineering radial tire expansion and efficiency improvement project will add 20,000 sets of giant OTR tires, with a total investment of approximately RMB 1.494 billion. Linglong Tire, Chaoyang Langma, Xuzhou Xulun, Hengda Tire and many other top 75 tyre manufacturers have also invested more than 100 million yuan in OTR capacity.
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II. OTR tires foreign-invested enterprises
- Yokohama’s continuous acquisitions
In 2023, Yokohama completed the acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems for 16.5 billion yuan. It caused a stir at the time, as Trelleborg Wheels has a pivotal position in the field of off-road tires. In 2024, Yokohama once again refreshed the perception of OTR tires. On July 22, 2024, Goodyear has reached an agreement with Yokohama to sell its off-road (OTR) tire business to Yokohama for US$905 million (about RMB 6.6 billion).
Bridgestone expands production capacity
On August 6, 2024, Bridgestone Corporation announced plans to invest 25 billion yen (1.233 billion yuan) to upgrade related production equipment at its bulldozer and mining tire factory in Kitakyushu, Japan. The overall equipment upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The upgraded production equipment will help increase the value of Bridgestone’s off-highway (OTR) tire business.
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III. Is the OTR market an opportunity?
Global Demand Growth
The global demand for OTR tires is rising with increasing infrastructure construction and mining activities, especially in developing countries.
Tyre Manufacturers Cost Competitiveness
OTR tires made in China are usually highly price competitive and can attract the attention of international buyers.
OTR Tyre Manufacturers Technological Progress
Chinese tyre manufacturers have continuously innovated in technology and production processes, improving product quality and enhancing export competitiveness.
- Diversified Market
Through exporting, enterprises can enter diversified markets, reduce their dependence on the domestic market and diversify risks.
Trade policy advantages
Some countries may adopt preferential trade policies for Chinese OTR tires to further promote exports.
Tyre Manufacturers Brand Building
Exporting can help companies improve their brand awareness and enhance their influence in the international market.
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IV. Global tyre manufacturers compete for dominance in the OTR market
China’s tire exports are huge, after all, it is impossible to digest them domestically alone. Obviously, in the case of a very involuted domestic market, exploring overseas markets is undoubtedly the best way, and it is also a panacea for a number of tire companies to escape from the edge of suffocation.
Domestic supply exceeds demand, overcapacity, and serious involutio. Although the OTR field is not so involuted, the market is so big. With each company increasing its production capacity, the future days are full of variables. The global market is very broad, especially in the past two years, various places are in urgent need of economic construction, and the demand for OTR tires is obvious.
But as tire giants collectively look at this market, I am afraid that the future OTR market will also usher in a storm. Among Chinese tyre manufacturers, Fengshen, Triangle, Double Coin, Prinx Chengshan, Zhongce Rubber, Guizhou Tire, Linglong Tire, Forlander, Sailun Tire, etc. have already gone all out to expand the OTR market.
