China Tire Exports Rise, Prices Drop

According to the latest data from China's General Administration of Customs, China's rubber tire exports reached 4.94 million tons in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%; the export value was 82.6 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year decrease of 1%.

Among them, exports of new pneumatic rubber tires reached 4.75 million tons, an increase of 4.7%, with a corresponding value of 79.1 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.2%; in terms of tire quantity, exports reached 362.42 million tires, an increase of 3.9%. 

Automobile tire exports reached 4.18 million tons, an increase of 3.3%, with a value of 66.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.1%. While the export scale continued to expand, the average price declined significantly, highlighting the characteristic of "trading volume for price."

Market competition remains fierce

China has always been a region of intense global tire competition. Although the total export volume continues to grow, many economies around the world are still raising trade barriers, and the domestic tire market is also deeply mired in infighting. Especially in the past two years, foreign brands have successively withdrawn from the all-steel tire market, making the competition among domestic tire companies increasingly fierce, and competition for existing market share has become the norm.

Trade barriers are compounding, narrowing export channels

According to overseas industry media reports on July 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce has completed its sunset review of Chinese passenger car and light truck tires, deciding to extend the high anti-dumping and countervailing duties for another five years. These tariffs, implemented since 2015, have a combined rate of nearly 190%, long suppressing direct exports from domestic factories to the North American market.

Previously, on June 18, the European Commission issued Final Ruling Notice AD733, imposing anti-dumping duties of 24.4% to 45.3% on Chinese passenger car tires. Beyond Europe and the U.S., Brazil and Peru have also launched anti-dumping investigations against Chinese tires; the Eurasian Economic Union has further increased entry costs with stringent environmental regulations.

Exports to the U.S. have declined sharply

In the first five months of 2026, the U.S. imported a total of 116.59 million tires, a year-on-year decrease of 3.6%. Imports of passenger car tires totaled 69.98 million, down 2%; truck and bus tires totaled 24.71 million, down 9%; aircraft tires totaled 135,000, up 22%; motorcycle tires totaled 1.54 million, down 2%; and bicycle tires totaled 3.28 million, up 24%. During the same period, the US imported only 7.44 million tires from China, a sharp year-on-year decrease of 33%.

Passenger car tires accounted for 409,000, down 14%; and truck and bus tires totaled 382,000, a significant drop of 41%. Under high tariffs, Chinese tires are rapidly becoming marginalized in the US market.

Domestic Original Equipment Market Under Pressure

According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in June 2026, my country's automobile production and sales reached 2.76 million and 2.81 million units respectively, down 1.2% and 3.2% year-on-year.

Among them, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 1.598 million and 1.643 million units respectively, up 26% and 23.6% year-on-year. From January to June, cumulative automobile production and sales reached 14.993 million and 15.017 million units respectively, both down approximately 4% year-on-year.

In the commercial vehicle sector, June production and sales reached 387,000 and 409,000 units respectively, representing increases of 9.5% and 10.7%; cumulative production and sales for the first half of the year reached 2.272 million and 2.297 million units respectively, representing increases of 8.2% and 8.3%. The overall contraction in automobile production has directly pressured the demand for original equipment tires.

Retail Stores: Mild Recovery, Profitability Still Difficult

The replacement market is equally bleak. Tire Business recently visited several tire shops in Beijing. One shop owner frankly stated, "The number of customers is indeed a little higher than in the previous two years, but that's because the market was really bad in the previous two years. The problem is that the average transaction value has never increased; overall, it's still not good. Compared to the previous two years, it's slightly better, but only slightly." The visits show that the Beijing tire retail market has not seen a substantial recovery; competition is the norm, and the low-price strategy to gain volume continues.

Competition Enters a More Complex Phase, and Companies Need to Adapt

With export volume increasing but prices falling, high trade barriers, and sluggish domestic auto market restructuring and replacement demand, the tire industry is facing multiple pressures, entering a phase of low-margin, high-intensity competition. For companies, the real test will be how to increase product added value, optimize global production capacity layout, and maintain profits in a saturated market.