The 2025 financial report data was announced, and the Chinese tire industry handed over a milestone report card.
Zhongce Rubber leads the way with revenue of 44.956 billion yuan, followed by Sailun Group and Linglong Tire with 36.792 billion yuan and 24.642 billion yuan respectively. Pulin Chengshan, Shuangqian, Guizhou Tire and other collectives have crossed the 10 billion threshold.
The total revenue of the above-mentioned leading companies alone is close to 180 billion yuan.
Twenty years ago, tens of billions was still a ceiling. Nowadays, the strong rise of tens of billions of companies marks the acceleration of the industry from “small and scattered” to “big and strong”, and the transformation from “followers” to “parallel runners” on the global track.
The starting point of China’s tires was not glamorous.
In 1958, Hangzhou Haichao Rubber Factory initially only manufactured rubber shoes; in 1976, Weihai Tire Factory, the predecessor of Triangle Tire, had a difficult start.
The real turning point came in the 1980s and 1990s, when Pulin Chengshan, Zhongce, and Sanjiang successively built radial tire production lines, allowing Chinese tires to stand on the same technological starting line as foreign capital for the first time.
Entering the 21st century, private forces such as Sailun have emerged, paving the way for the breakthrough of “liquid gold”.
From rubber shoes to radial tires, it took more than sixty years for Chinese tires to complete a triple leap in technology.
Technological breakthroughs allow companies to “stand up”, and globalization allows everyone to “go global.”
In 2012, Sailun went to Vietnam to build a factory and became a pioneer in going overseas; Linglong settled in Thailand in the same year and pioneered the “Southeast Asia-Europe-South America” global triangular layout; Doublestar controlled Kumho in South Korea and quickly gained entry into the international high-end market.
Nowadays, overseas production capacity has become a growth pole, and Linglong’s overseas sales revenue accounts for nearly half. Zhongce is accelerating the coordination of its multinational bases.
From exporting products to overseas production to exporting production capacity, Chinese tires are restructuring the global supply chain.
For a long time, “Made in China” has been equated with low-end and cheap in the tire industry.
Today, Zhongce’s “Chaoyang No. 1” has broken the high-end monopoly of foreign investment; Linglong has entered the lists of Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, etc., eight of the world’s top ten car companies have chosen Linglong, and its new energy supporting sales have continued to rank first.
In the field of intelligent manufacturing, Guizhou Tire will be shortlisted as a “Lighthouse Factory” in 2025, with production efficiency increased by 68% and quality defects reduced by 57%, proving that Chinese tires can not only be made well, but also made smartly.
Ten billion is a watershed, but compared with Michelin and Prestige’s annual revenue exceeding 200 billion, Chinese tires still have room to catch up.
Future competition will revolve around three main lines: First, globalization will be upgraded again, building overseas factories has become a “must answer”, and supply chain resilience determines share; second, high-end development will continue to break through, leveraging the advantages of new energy to change lanes and overtake in the EV field; third, intelligent manufacturing will be fully penetrated to achieve the evolution of quality and customization capabilities.
Ten billion is just a new starting point, and after tens of billions there will be hundreds of billions.
The direction has been made clear, the road has been opened, and a new era of Chinese tires reshaping the world pattern has just begun.
