International brands have a lead in the original equipment segment of the Chinese tire market, but domestic brands are actively working on strengthening their positions.
The China Tire Dealer portal has published the ranking of the most popular tire brands in the segment of original equipment of the Chinese market in the first half of 2021, and, as experts note, the situation keeps on changing, but the foreign manufacturers still have the lead, the first place being held by Michelin, followed by Continental, Pirelli, and Bridgestone. Last year, Pirelli was in second place and Continental in fourth.
The top-10 also included the Chinese Linglong and the Taiwanese Maxxis, and one should keep in mind that the Atlas brand is also owned by Linglong. In connection to Maxxis, CTD noted that this brand has a really strong position in the OE segment, and the company keeps on supplying car makers with a large number of tires of various categories.

Even though the list of the most popular tire brands is topped by international tire makers, from the standpoint of the number of the car models fitted with original tires, the Chinese manufacturers (counting the Maxxis figures) hold the lead. At the same time, their position cannot be considered to be obviously prevalent; in addition, this figure dropped a little compared to 2020.

For years, the most popular tire size in the OE segment of the Chinese market was 205/55 R16, but in the first half of the 2021 it scored only the third place, with the most popular sizes becoming 215/55R17 and 225/55R18. Among other things, these figures were influenced by the fact that more and more cars are fitted with low-profile tires, and, in addition, the growing popularity of SUVs also played a part.

Even though the list of the most popular tire brands is topped by international tire makers, from the standpoint of the number of the car models fitted with original tires, the Chinese manufacturers (counting the Maxxis figures) hold the lead. At the same time, their position cannot be considered to be obviously prevalent; in addition, this figure dropped a little compared to 2020.

In the segment of tires installed on deluxe cars, the most popular are such international brands as Pirelli and Michelin, with Continental breathing down their necks and quickly expanding its market share. The experts say that, although the Chinese tire brands are consistently working on increasing their supplies to car plants, they have not yet achieved any palpable success in this sector. At the same time, China’s manufacturers of deluxe cars are more and more often opting for the Korean tire brand Hankook. Today, it occupies only the fifth place, but it is already quite some result that is sure to raise the brand awareness on the market.

Another market segment that is rapidly developing is the cars that use alternative energy sources, such as EVs and hybrids, for the tires of which very high requirements are posed. The leader in this segment is Michelin, followed by Goodyear, and Continental, Giti, and Linglong sharing the third place. The latter company is actively developing its collaboration with car manufacturers — its tires, for example, are used as OE on the new Wuling HongGuang Mini EV.