The pandemic has negatively affected the tire industry

According to the European Tire Manufacturers Association (ETRMA), the negative impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on the European tire industry is becoming "increasingly evident."

According to a report by ETRMA, third-quarter demand for replacement passenger car tires fell 1.9% year-on-year to 60.4 million units. ETRMA data are based on figures provided by member companies.

The data also points to a slowdown in the decline in the consumer tire market - sales in the first three quarters of 2020 fell 14.4% year-over-year to 143.5 million tires. However, ETRMA expects demand for passenger car tires to continue to fall as the pandemic restricts travel demand and European governments ask citizens to limit their contacts and travel.

The market for truck tires reached its lowest point in May this year, experts of the association say, but then there were "timid positive trends" - in the third quarter, sales growth compared to the same period last year amounted to 2.9%, to 3.6 million tires.

Overall, in the first three quarters of the year, according to ETRMA, the truck tire market declined by 8% to 8.7 million units.

ETRMA general secretary Fazilet Cinaralp said the outlook for the remainder of 2020 "remains bleak" and the association expects a "double-digit drop in sales across all segments."

“As the numbers show, the crisis hit our industry quite hard and the situation is not improving,” she added, stressing the “urgent need” for measures to support the tire industry.