Three tire companies are among the top 500 in the world
Recently, Brand Finance, a well-known brand value assessment and consulting agency, released the "Top 500 Global Brand Values in 2025". Three tire companies, Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental, are on the list.
Michelin, firmly sits on the top of the tire industry
In 2025, the value of the world's top 500 most valuable brands increased by 10% to US$9.5 trillion (about RMB 69 trillion), far exceeding the global economic growth rate of 3%.
The report shows that there are three well-known tire manufacturers on the list of the top 500 global brand values in 2025. Michelin and Bridgestone are both among the top 300 on the list.
Compared with 2024, Michelin rose from 284th to 267th in 2025, and is still the tire company with the highest brand value in the world. The increase in brand valuation is a recognition of Michelin's contribution to mankind for 135 years.
The world-renowned tire product and service guide has made Michelin's development possible. In the Chinese market, after decades of deep cultivation, Michelin has maintained a leading position in the Chinese tire market. Brand Finance's surveys for many consecutive years show that Michelin's tire products have maintained a leading market share in major passenger car segments. The wide market share recognition not only allows Michelin to reap a lot of rewards in the Chinese tire supporting market, but also has a stable market share in the replacement market.
Michelin entered the Chinese market in 1989 and has now established 5 factories, an operations headquarters and a research and development center. The main areas involved include: tire products, Chijia services, scientific and technological materials and Michelin Guide.
In January 2025, Michelin's largest single plant in China, Shenyang Base, announced the review opinion of the "Energy Saving Report" of the high-performance radial tire green intelligent manufacturing project. The project is designed to have a production capacity of 830,000 high-performance radial tires. After completion, Michelin's supply capacity in the Chinese passenger car tire market will be further enhanced.
Bridgestone, ranking significantly improved
In 2025, Bridgestone rose from 297th to 284th in the world's top 500 most valuable brands, with a significant increase in brand value.
In the Chinese tire market, Bridgestone is also accelerating its capacity layout. In mid-2024, Bridgestone said it would invest approximately RMB 562 million in the next three years, focusing on strengthening the construction of production bases and increasing the proportion of high-end passenger car tire production.
On November 4, 2024, Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and the Wuxi High-tech Zone Management Committee signed an important investment agreement, promising to strengthen investment in Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire Co., Ltd. in the next three years to expand the production scale of high-end passenger car tires and help the factory achieve comprehensive improvement and development.
At the same time, the widespread application of ENLITEN® technology is further increasing the core competitiveness of Bridgestone's products. ENLITEN® technology not only provides tires with more excellent performance, but its core low rolling resistance (LRR) feature also brings many benefits, including reducing carbon emissions. While helping the industry to develop sustainably, it also reduces fleet maintenance costs and overall operating costs.
In terms of products, Bridgestone Wuxi Plant will increase the specifications of large rim diameter (HRD) tires produced to 21 inches, realize localized production instead of imports, and further enhance its competitiveness in the Chinese market.
Continental, stronger tire supply capabilities
Continental ranks 447th in the "Top 500 Global Brand Values in 2025". Continental's German Continental tires are well-known and recognized in the Chinese tire market and are widely praised by consumers.
In order to further expand its brand influence in the Chinese market, German Continental has been continuously expanding its product supply capabilities in recent years. On June 20, 2024, German Continental Tires announced that its first production base in China, the fourth phase expansion project of the Hefei plant, was officially put into production.
It is reported that the total investment in the production base is nearly 1 billion euros, and it will achieve full production by 2027, that is, the annual production capacity of Continental Tire Hefei Plant will be increased to 18 million passenger car and light truck tires per year. Moreover, this expansion will strengthen its business in the Asia-Pacific region and the Chinese market, and help Continental further improve its overall production capacity of ultra-high performance (UHP) tires.
German Continental's Hefei plant officially went into operation in 2022 and is the first foreign-invested tire manufacturing base invested by Continental in China.
In addition to increasing production capacity, German Continental insists on enriching and improving its product matrix according to consumer needs.
In 2024, Continental launched the luxury sports tire MaxContact MC7 and the seventh-generation winter tire NorthContact NC7;
In April 2023, Continental launched the ComfortContact CC7, which focuses on comfortable driving;
In addition, Continental also launched the eContact and CrossContact AX series tire products for the new energy and off-road vehicle markets;
The high-performance tire SportContact 7 and the luxury balanced tire UltraContact UC7 have also been launched in the Chinese market in recent years. Strong R&D capabilities and a rich product matrix continue to meet the increasing tire needs of car owners.
In this year's list, a brand value of at least US$19.8 billion (RMB 144 billion) can get a "ticket" to enter the top 100 of the list.
In the 2024 Global Tire Brand Value List, Michelin's brand value was once assessed at US$7.9 billion. According to the 10% increase in brand value of the overall list this year, Michelin's brand value in 2025 is likely to continue to rise.
In the top 20 ranking of the global tire brand value list in 2024, China's Sailun Tire and Linglong Tire continued to be on the list, with brand values of 5.802 billion and 5.787 billion yuan respectively, demonstrating their impressive strength.
However, according to the brand value estimate in 2024, it is still difficult for Chinese tire companies to enter the top 500 global brand values. After all, sales volume and sales revenue are only one part of the evaluation, and brand awareness and market brand recommendation are also important evaluation criteria.
Foreign-funded tire companies can still obtain higher brand value despite a decline in sales, often because they have stronger brand appeal in the high-value tire market. In fact, although foreign-funded tire companies have seen a decline in tire sales in recent years, they have achieved higher sales in the 18-inch and above tire market.
At the same time, Michelin's performance in tire matching for automakers is also far ahead. At the Beijing Auto Show, Michelin, Pirelli and Continental accounted for almost 55% of the matching market share. For automobile OEMs, the trust of the replacement market in brands has become an important reference for brand value.
This also means that at least in the next five years, Chinese tire companies must seize the opportunity of increased sales, cultivate global car owners' consumption habits, and improve brand value, so that Chinese tire brands can also enter the top 500 global brand values early!
