The ETRMA has published the fourth quarter and end of year results for the OE and replacement tyre markets, with a clear recovery for original equipment truck tyres and a moderate reduction for replacement agricultural tyres.
OE Truck Tyres and Replacement Truck Tyres See Healthy Growth in 2021
Starting with OE truck tyres, the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) figures show a clear improvement on 2020 levels with 5,832,000 sales this year, against last year’s 4,669,000 constituting a 25% increase. Analysing replacement truck tyres, the ETRMA statistics are close to equal for the fourth quarter of 2020 and 2021, with 2021 inching ahead with 3,427,000 sales against 3,388,000 representing a 1% rise. The year-on-year figures show progress, with 13,548,000 sales for 2021 against 12,101,000 units, which is a 12% improvement.
Turkey were the biggest purchasers of replacement truck and bus tyres, with just under 2 million sales recorded for 2021, followed by Germany with over 1.5 million sales and Italy, Spain, France and the UK, in respective order all recording over 1 million in sales.
Agricultural Tyres Close to 2020 Levels
With a dip in the final quarter of 11%, 2021 fell just short of 2020 levels. There were 228,000 units sold in the fourth quarter of 2021 against 257,000 in 2020. By pure coincidence, this figure is the exact difference between the year-on-year figures for 2021 (1,155,000 in 2020 against 1,126,000 in 2021).
Looking at trends, France remains the biggest purchaser of replacement agricultural tyres, although, over the last four years, sales have dropped by around 30,000 to 200,000 sales. Germany is the second biggest for sales with just under 200,000, with remarkably consistent sales over the last four years. Italy and Spain are in third and fourth position, with Italy close to 100,000 sales and Spain above 75,000.
Acknowledging the challenging environment, Mrs Cinaralp, Secretary General of ETRMA, said, “Manufacturers are facing multiple opportunities as the sector is rapidly transforming in response to new developments in vehicle technology, mobility, and regulatory policies.” Cinaralp concluded, “Our sector has been resilient through the pandemic, and we look forward to this positive trend to be confirmed and the growth to consolidate in 2022, back to 2019 volumes.”
