Global Tire Company Ranking | 2025
With the announcement of Continental's performance at 9:00 on March 4, 2025, the annual report data of major foreign-funded tire companies in the world were fully disclosed.
Judging only by the sales of tire business, Michelin continued to dominate the global industry with a sales advantage of nearly 10 billion yuan.
In addition to this global first place, the entire tire industry in 2024 almost experienced a "sudden change" like a storm.
Disappearing 70 billion
The biggest change in the tire industry in 2024 was the sudden drop in sales. In one year, the total sales of 11 major foreign-funded tire companies in the world fell by about 75 billion yuan compared with the previous year, with a total of 804.2 billion yuan.
Pirelli, which ranks fifth in global tire sales, has annual sales of only 51.5 billion yuan. In 2024, the losses of 12 tire companies are equivalent to the annual revenue of a powerful tire company.
Even though they were also hit by the sales of high-quality and price-performance tires in Asia in 2023, the sales of foreign-funded tire companies still guaranteed the increase in sales through price increases and other means. But in 2024, the sales of the tire market are even worse.
Not only does the sales impact in the replacement market in 2023 continue, but the continued downturn in the supporting business in the North American and European markets has dealt a heavier blow to the sales of foreign giants who have always been "proud" of their supporting business.
In addition to the sales hit, which has dragged down the sales of foreign tires, the reorganization of foreign-funded leading tire companies is also one of the important reasons for the difference in tire sales in 2024.
Previously, the tire business of leading tire companies basically accounted for 80% to 90%, but in 2024, as foreign tire giants wanted to participate in more travel plans more strongly, the tire business accounted for less than 80%.
Therefore, many tire companies have seen an increase in group revenue, but a decline in tire business revenue-the top four tire companies have experienced varying degrees of decline in tire sales in 2024.
Mipugu's three-legged tripod
However, even if there is a decline, the status of the world's four tire giants is difficult to shake. In 2024, the group sales of Michelin and Bridgestone both exceeded RMB 200 billion; the sales of the tire business was also around RMB 150 billion. At present, at least for the next 10 years, the top spot in the global tire industry will still be the "dragon-tiger battle" between Michelin and Bridgestone.
However, due to the changes in the proportion of the tire business of the two giants, Goodyear's tire business sales in 2024 have narrowed the gap between the two tire companies. But this does not mean that Goodyear can quickly surpass Michelin and Bridgestone.
In 2024, Goodyear divested its non-public tires and Dunlop's European business. Even if Goodyear's sales volume has achieved a leap forward in 2025, the fact that its business volume has shrunk has become a resistance to its return to the world's number one. In addition, the pursuit of German Continental is another layer of pressure for Goodyear.
The sales of German Continental's tire business in 2024 are not much different from those in 2023. What makes Continental soar is its sales in the Asia-Pacific region, especially its UHP tires (ultra-high performance tires). The best proof is that in 2024, Continental provided supporting services to 9 of the 10 electric vehicle manufacturers with the highest production in the Asia-Pacific region.
Terrible large-size tires
Of course, this is also a common feature of the top five tire companies in the world-the continuous increase in the proportion of high-value tires.
Large-size, high-value, and ultra-high-performance tire sales account for 65% of Michelin, ultra-high-performance tires account for 60% of Continental's passenger car tire sales, and Pirelli's large-size tire sales account for 76%, making it the tire company with the highest sales of large-size passenger car tires among the top five tire companies. The most intuitive benefit of large size is the increase in operating profit.
Although the sales of some foreign-funded tire companies declined in 2024, the operating profits of almost all foreign-funded tire companies increased.
Tire business does not lose money
Although the price increase strategy did not help the giants achieve a major breakthrough in revenue, it made a real contribution to profits. In 2024, the operating profits of 11 foreign-funded tire companies increased by 5.6% to 106.4 billion yuan.
The increase in the proportion of ultra-high-performance and high-value tires has helped companies get higher profits; and the price increase has helped tire companies offset the impact of a 3% to 5% decline in sales in a mess of tire sales.
It is worth noting that in terms of profit performance, Continental surpassed Goodyear to reach the third place. Hankook Tire's group operating profit exceeded Pirelli and entered the top five in the world. In addition, although the gap between Pirelli and Sumitomo Rubber in sales is not large, it can be found that Pirelli is obviously more profitable by comparing profits.
In 2023, Pirelli's operating profit was only about 4 billion more than Sumitomo Rubber. Profit is the foundation for the healthy development of an enterprise, and Pirelli's profit comes from the large-size tire sales we mentioned above.
In fact, Sumitomo Rubber's profit has not improved much not only because its performance in large-size tires needs to be upgraded, but also because of its difficulties in operation in recent years. Sumitomo Rubber is troubled by the continuous losses of its US factories and the fact that its global sales have been greatly impacted by high-quality and cost-effective tires.
In 2024, Sumitomo Rubber's operating profit has been surpassed by Yokohama, and the sales gap with Yokohama has also narrowed from RMB 4.2 billion in 2023 to RMB 3 billion.
Sumitomo Rubber has already felt the crisis, so at the end of 2024, Sumitomo Rubber decisively closed its US factories and bought back Dunlop's European business, which also means that Sumitomo Rubber will not only be able to "reduce its burden" in 2025, but also regain more possibilities for expansion in the high-end market. And Yokohama, a Japanese tire manufacturer that has started "crazy acquisitions" since 2022, can it realize its long-cherished wish of entering the top five in the world in 2025 by "making a breakthrough" in the off-road tire market?
After all, Yokohama's overall tire business revenue in 2024 is only 3 billion yuan behind Pirelli, even before Goodyear's specialty tire business sales are included. In 2025, with the consolidation of Goodyear's specialty tire business, it is likely that its tire sales will enter the top five in the world.
The tire industry pattern in 2025 has been broken
After 2025, with the increase in acquisitions and mergers and acquisitions among tire companies, and the acceleration of production expansion by tire companies to expand their global layout, the competition between the first and second echelons in the world will become more intense.
Every decision on production capacity, every change in supporting cooperation and fleet services, and even every increase or reduction in SKUs will have a more profound impact on the survival and development of the company in terms of sales and profits. The tire industry is no longer in the "wild growth stage" at the beginning of its birth, and every decision made by tire companies should be more cautious.
