2025 Global Sales Report of Chinese-Made Passenger Car Tires and 2026 Forecast
With the continuous upgrading of technology and the acceleration of globalization, Chinese-made passenger car tires have gradually become an important force in the global market. This report focuses on the global sales performance of Chinese-made passenger car tires in 2025, analyzes representative product models and their tread characteristics, sorts out the hot-selling specifications in the European and American markets, and finally forecasts the sales trend in 2026, aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for industry participants.
1. 2025 Global Sales Overview of Chinese-Made Passenger Car Tires
In 2025, the global demand for automotive tires showed a steady growth trend, with the total global demand for automotive tires reaching 2.11 billion units, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. Among them, the demand for passenger car tires (semi-steel tires) was the main driving force, with global shipments exceeding 1.5 billion units for the first time. Against this background, Chinese-made passenger car tires achieved remarkable performance in the global market, although the export growth rate slowed down compared with previous years.
According to customs data, the export volume of Chinese passenger car tires was basically flat year-on-year in the first half of 2025, reaching 172 million units. However, affected by factors such as the EU anti-dumping investigation and geopolitical tensions, the export volume fluctuated in the second half of the year. In the second quarter, the export volume of passenger car tires fell by 3.6% year-on-year to 87.36 million units. From January to October 2025, the cumulative export volume of Chinese passenger car tires was 2.7266 million tons, a slight decrease of 0.08% year-on-year. Despite the short-term fluctuations, the export volume remained at a high level overall in the first half of the year.
In terms of regional distribution, the European Union was the most concentrated export market for Chinese passenger car tires in 2025, accounting for 26.74% of the total export volume in the first half of the year. Thanks to the early stockpiling by importers to avoid potential tariff risks, China's passenger car tire imports to Europe surged in the first half of 2025, with an import volume of 51 million units, ranking first in Europe's passenger car tire imports, which was five times the sum of the second and third places (South Korea and Thailand). By 2025, China's tire market share in Europe had climbed to 20%, a fourfold increase compared with 2019. In addition, the Middle East and Latin America are also important export markets, accounting for 17.59% and more than 12% respectively. The "Belt and Road" market showed strong growth momentum. In the first five months of 2025, the export volume of passenger car tires to Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan increased by 41.04% and 42.55% year-on-year respectively.
2. Representative Chinese-Made Passenger Car Tire Products and Tread Characteristics
In 2025, Chinese tire brands achieved breakthroughs in high-end markets with technological innovation, and a number of representative products won wide recognition in the global market. Their unique tread designs have become an important factor in enhancing product competitiveness.
2.1 Sailun Liquid Gold Series
The Sailun Liquid Gold Series has subverted the industry's cognition with its innovative "liquid gold" technology, breaking the "devil's triangle" dilemma of rolling resistance, grip and wear resistance. The series includes new energy, luxury driving, urban driving and ultra-high performance sub-series. In terms of tread design, the new energy sub-series adopts a non-symmetric tread pattern. The outer shoulder is designed with a wide rib to enhance cornering grip, while the inner side is equipped with dense sipes to improve wetland braking performance. The urban driving sub-series uses a continuous central rib design to ensure stable straight-line driving, and the variable-pitch tread pattern effectively reduces noise. In June 2025, the series launched a colored-edge tire integrating Oriental color aesthetics and cutting-edge technology, setting a new benchmark for global tire aesthetics.
2.2 Linglong Master Series
The new Linglong Master Series has established a firm position in the high-end market with three core products: "Precise Control", "Quiet Comfort" and "Premium Enjoyment". Among them, the Master Precise Control model adopts a wide tread design and hidden groove technology, which won the Excellence Award in the chassis system category of the 9th Lingxuan Award in 2025. Its tread is designed with four wide main drainage grooves, which can quickly drain water and improve wetland grip. The hidden groove technology reduces the deformation of the tread during driving, enhancing handling stability. At the same time, the series can be equipped with self-healing and silent cotton technologies to further improve driving comfort.
2.3 Chaoyang No.1
As the flagship product of Zhongce Rubber, Chaoyang No.1 is based on the three-in-one technology of "safety, fuel saving and quietness". Its tread design adopts the BPOT crown adaptive stability technology, which dynamically adjusts the pressure distribution of the tread. The tread is divided into three functional areas: the central control area, the drainage area and the grip area. The central control area uses a continuous rib to ensure straight-line stability; the drainage area is equipped with inclined drainage grooves to accelerate water flow; the grip area is designed with dense sipes and irregular block patterns to enhance grip on complex roads. In addition, the Soundbolt Array silencing plug array in the tread can effectively offset and disperse noise, significantly improving driving comfort.
2.4 Double Coin Deep Sea Quiet Series
The Double Coin Deep Sea Quiet Series is positioned in the mid-to-high-end market, focusing on ultra-quiet and comfortable driving experience. Its core advantage lies in the unique spoiler block silencing technology and variable-pitch tread pattern design. The spoiler blocks arranged in the tread can disrupt the air flow in the grooves, reducing aerodynamic noise. The variable-pitch tread pattern avoids resonance noise caused by regular tread patterns. At the same time, the tread is designed with cross-groove chamfers, which not only reduces noise but also enhances the rigidity of the tread blocks, improving wear resistance. The four wide main drainage grooves ensure excellent water drainage performance and enhance driving safety in rainy days.
3. Hot-Selling Specifications of Chinese-Made Passenger Car Tires in European and American Markets
The hot-selling specifications of Chinese-made passenger car tires in European and American markets are closely related to the local mainstream vehicle models and driving conditions. In 2025, the following specifications are the most popular:
3.1 European Market
The European market is dominated by compact and medium-sized cars, and the hot-selling tire specifications are mainly concentrated in the range of 15-18 inches. The top three hot-selling specifications are 195/65R15, 205/55R16 and 225/45R17. Among them, 195/65R15 is widely matched with Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla and other compact models. Chinese brands such as THREE-A and YATONE have obvious price advantages in this specification, becoming the first choice for many European replacement market consumers. The 205/55R16 specification is suitable for medium-sized cars such as Skoda Octavia and Peugeot 408. Products such as Sailun Liquid Gold Urban Driving Series and Linglong Master Series in this specification are popular due to their excellent quiet performance and fuel economy. The 225/45R17 specification targets the mid-to-high-end market, matching models such as BMW 1 Series and Audi A3. The ultra-high performance tires of Sen麒麟 990 Series and Triangle EffeXSport TH202 in this specification have won recognition for their outstanding handling performance.
3.2 American Market
The American market has a high demand for SUVs and medium-to-large sedans, and the hot-selling tire specifications are relatively large, mainly 17-20 inches. The hot-selling specifications include 235/55R18, 245/45R19 and 255/50R20. The 235/55R18 specification is widely used in SUV models such as Ford Escape and Honda CR-V. Chinese brands such as Wanli e-Time Series and Maxxis Victra Sport 6 in this specification are favored by American consumers for their high load-bearing capacity and wear resistance. The 245/45R19 specification is suitable for medium-to-large sedans such as Chevrolet Malibu and Chrysler 300. Products of Chaoyang No.1 and Double Coin Deep Sea Quiet Series in this specification have obvious advantages in quietness and comfort. The 255/50R20 specification targets high-end SUVs such as Cadillac XT5. The Sailun Liquid Gold Ultra-High Performance Series in this specification meets the high-performance requirements of American consumers for handling and grip.
4. 2026 Sales Forecast of Chinese-Made Passenger Car Tires
Looking forward to 2026, the global market demand for passenger car tires will continue to grow, driven by factors such as the continuous increase in global car ownership, the rapid rise in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles, and the release of replacement market demand. Chinese-made passenger car tires are expected to achieve steady growth in sales, with the market scale and product structure further optimized.
4.1 Overall Market Scale Forecast
According to the forecast data of Frost & Sullivan and the China Rubber Industry Association, the total sales volume of China's passenger car tire market is expected to grow steadily in 2026, and the market size is expected to reach 187 billion yuan[$26.2 billion, calculated at the exchange rate of 7.14 yuan per US dollar]. Among them, the export market will recover gradually. With the gradual clarity of the EU anti-dumping investigation results and the continuous improvement of the stability of the global supply chain, the export volume of Chinese passenger car tires is expected to reach 190 million units in 2026, a year-on-year increase of about 2.7%. In the global market, China's share of passenger car tire trade is expected to further increase to 20%.
4.2 Product Structure Upgrade Trend
The rapid increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles will become a core driving force for the upgrading of China's tire product structure. In 2026, the sales volume of high-end tires (unit price over 600 yuan) is expected to account for 25%, an increase of 3 percentage points compared with 2025. New energy-specific tires with low rolling resistance, high load-bearing capacity, quietness and wear resistance will become the focus of market competition. Products such as Sailun Liquid Gold New Energy Series, Puling XNEX SPORT EV and Wanli e-Time Series will further expand their market share. At the same time, green tires will become the mainstream of the market. With the promotion of policies such as the "14th Five-Year Plan" for the tire industry, the popularization rate of green tires in China is expected to reach 75% in 2026, which will further enhance the competitiveness of Chinese-made tires in the global market.
4.3 Regional Market Performance Forecast
In the European market, after the short-term stockpiling demand is released, the import volume of Chinese tires is expected to return to a rational growth trend. With the continuous improvement of product quality and technical level, Chinese brands will further expand their share in the European replacement market, especially in the field of mid-to-high-end tires. In the American market, Chinese tire brands will strengthen their layout in the new energy vehicle supporting market, and the export volume of large-size, high-performance tires is expected to grow rapidly. In emerging markets such as Central Asia and North Africa, benefiting from the "Belt and Road" initiative and local infrastructure investment, the demand for passenger car tires will continue to rise, and Chinese-made tires are expected to achieve double-digit growth in these regions due to their cost-effectiveness advantages.
4.4 Risk Factors
It should be noted that Chinese-made passenger car tires still face certain risk factors in 2026. Trade frictions such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties in major global markets may affect export volume. Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber will also bring pressure on enterprise costs. In addition, geopolitical tensions and global economic weakness may also restrict the growth of market demand. Enterprises need to strengthen risk prevention and control, optimize the global production and supply chain layout, and enhance their ability to resist risks.
5. Conclusion
In 2025, Chinese-made passenger car tires achieved stable development in the global market amid fluctuations, with remarkable results in high-end market breakthroughs and regional market expansion. Representative products such as Sailun Liquid Gold Series and Linglong Master Series have won market recognition with their excellent technological performance and unique tread designs. The hot-selling specifications in European and American markets are closely matched with local market demand. Looking forward to 2026, Chinese-made passenger car tires will usher in new development opportunities driven by the growth of global market demand and the upgrading of new energy vehicles. Although they face certain risks, the overall market prospect is optimistic. With continuous technological innovation and product structure upgrading, Chinese tire brands will further move towards the high-end of the global value chain.