Last year, Oxford Dictionaries declared that “Unprecedented” is the word of year that chosen by the famous English language experts to sum up the preceding 12 months. It’s been more than a year since the pandemic changed the way we live and work, and nothing feels more important than staying connected to our communities. Tyre industry is no exception.

As we all know, the automotive society is changing at rapid pace world-wide due to various factors such as new customer trends, growth of middle class and new mobility concepts. The performance requirements of tyres continue to rise ever higher, meaning that even further advancement in tyre technology as well as fighting with complex issues are now our new normal. The requirements of tyre performance parameters are much greater than past therefore now we work with “octagon,” instead of historically used “triangle.”

Today, we are talking about “Desired performance” instead of “Prioritised performance” which covers all required factors as well as sustainable green product concept. As we all know, many tyre manufacturers have announced their aggressive plans to have “carbon-neutral” products and aimed to adopt renewable materials and sustainable solutions.

As noted earlier, there are also additional challenges facing mobility and there are many new topics. In this article as TIC, we focused some of the hot topics to be involved by tyre companies. The below topics will force fundamental changes and our industry is going to be more complex. We need to understand those which would affect market dynamics, breakthrough developments and mobility revolutions.

We believe that a holistic approach is needed to see the future as well as new opportunities and treats. TIC-Tire Industry Consulting’s recommendations are given for some of the important areas, which should be involved by tyre manufacturers in order to continue their business.

Air-Free tyres

The airless concept tyre is one of the initiatives aimed towards many tyre manufacture’s long-term vision of the use of sustainable materials. Many of tyre manufacturers revealed their second or third generation air free technologies by featuring improved load-bearing capabilities, driving performance and environmental design. However, there are a lot of works to be made before air free tyres available for customers. Anyone looking for the future of tyre industry needs to involve Air Free tyre technology. Although it is very hard to estimate, we believe CAGR would be reached 3-4% within ten years globally.

Sustainable solutions

This is one of the most popular topics for automotive industry since many years by aiming CO₂ emission reduction. The motivations are: increasing pressure from legislation to move to zero CO_2, EV sales booming in many countries and consumers are increasingly seeking to buy from environmentally responsible companies. Main players have announced very challenging targets to use all-sustainable materials by 2030 and 2050. Tyre industry has to follow this path and needs to do fundamental changes regarding all processes such as R&D, supply chain and others. We believe that tyre industry should implement multiple technological innovations for sustainable solutions by working with their suppliers. In order to keep the competition, tyre manufacturers should: have a Science Based Target (SBT) for sustainability, engage with suppliers for joint activities and improve R&D activities regarding new materials, new designs and higher the usage of recycled materials.

EV tyres

Global automotive sector is responsible for 15% of global GHG emission and Paris agreement targeted to have “zero” GHG emission by 2050 to limit global warming. This is a very challenging target ever seen that committed by all countries. Private sector is co-responsible for implementation and rapid fleet electrification is one of the on-going solution items. OEMs have set the pace for CO₂ reduction and tyre manufacturers should have the EV tyre that meets “desired performance” as a sustainable green product.

The best example would be Germany , that aims to have 14M electric cars in 2030 by having almost 30% share of total car and electric passenger car new sales would reach to 75-80%  of total cars sale in 2030. Those figures show how big opportunity is exist for EV tyre manufacturers for OE and replacement markets. In that respect, we should continue to improve New Product Development (NPD) process even harder by expanding R&D efforts.

Artificial Intelligence

One of the important breakthrough innovations is AI and now widely use in all industries. We have seen many new applications by using AI in tyre industry too. Some of the areas would be sensor adoptions, prediction of compound physical properties, data mining in production processes and performance predictions during service time such a wear life and others. As TIC, we see AI as a “white space” for tyre manufactures that needs special skills as well as knowledge to adapt AI to existing systems.

Dynamic Testing

This has been performed by many tyre manufacturers using different test methodologies  such as component level, Hil (Hardware-in-the-Loop), ViL (Vehicle-in-the-Loop) test during the development and test & verification states of the product. In addition to those currently available test technologies, there are new developments in testing, such as dynamic driving simulators, in other words DiL (Driver-in-the-Loop). This technology enables tyre manufacturer to test and verify their next-generation tyre designs in virtual environment using the vehicle digital twin, which replicates the actual vehicle including vehicle driving dynamics, with real driver interaction. The DiL will improve the development process and create new opportunities for tyre manufacturers as preferred one. TIC believes in “Speed to market with right solutions and innovation,” and ready to support you. Design & development process duration is getting more and more crucial and all manufacturers are trying to reduce it by using modern simulation and testing technics. We recommend adopting Virtual technology in order to provide the best service to your customers.

As a conclusion, tyre industry is facing a lot of challenges and having very dynamic competition, in that respect the tyre technology and tyre knowledge will be extremely important to compete in the future, more than at any time in the past.

TIC Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) have vast hands-on experiences for above topics and ready to support your activities. We provide specialised technical solutions for challenges and TIC guarantees a high standard of professional-ethical principles that we have kept and developed for years. (TT)

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Nokian Tyres has achieved a significant milestone in the 2026 S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), securing a total score of 80 points. This evaluation examines sustainability factors that are critical to long-term corporate performance, with a strong emphasis on risk management, organisational adaptability and overall resilience. The company views this result as a clear validation of its strategic approach.

The assessment awarded the tyre manufacturer perfect scores in several key categories, including Climate Risk Management, Raw Materials Programs, Information Security Policy and Human Rights Mitigation and Remediation. Company leadership has acknowledged that this accomplishment is rooted in the deep integration of sustainable practices across daily operations, product innovation and long-term value generation.

Nokian Tyres also stressed that responsible expansion relies heavily on collaborative efforts with employees and partners, reinforcing that sustainable decisions are fundamental to building resilience in a rapidly evolving global environment.

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Bartell Machinery Systems has announced an expansion of its production facility in Rome, New York, aimed at increasing manufacturing capacity and reducing lead times for customers.

The company is adding 22,400 square feet of high-bay manufacturing space to its existing 152,000 sq ft site. The expansion will include 30-tonne crane capacity, designed to improve material handling, workflow efficiency and flexibility in managing work in progress.

“This expansion of our Rome, New York production facility represents an exciting and important milestone for Bartell Machinery Systems,” said Ben Lunduski, Vice President of Operations of Bartell.

The increased ceiling height will enable the company to manufacture larger and more complex equipment more efficiently. The additional vertical clearance and heavy-lift infrastructure are expected to support improved assembly processes and sequencing of large-scale projects.

Bartell said the investment is intended to increase throughput across multiple product lines, enhance scheduling flexibility and reduce bottlenecks in assembly and testing. The company also expects to expand its capacity to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

“As demand for our large industrial machinery systems continues to grow, this investment reinforces our long-term commitment to our manufacturing operations in Central New York, our customers and our employees,” said Pat Morocco, President of Bartell. “By expanding our production capabilities, we are positioning Bartell for continued success while building a strong foundation for future growth.”

The expansion is also expected to lead to an increase in the company’s workforce to support higher production volumes, contributing to employment in the local area.

Bartell, which produces equipment for the rubber and tyre, wire and cable, and oil and gas industries, said the expansion reflects sustained demand across its product lines and continued growth in recent years. Construction of the facility is at an early stage.

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TyreXpo Asia and AutoMROtive will return to Singapore from 17 to 19 March 2027 at Marina Bay Sands, following a well-attended 2026 edition in Bangkok that drew more than 6,000 buyers and sellers from across the tyre and automotive aftermarket sectors.

The co-located events aim to bring together manufacturers, suppliers and solution providers with distributors, dealers, workshop operators, fleet owners and other industry participants from Asia and international markets. Organisers said the combined format is designed to reflect increasing integration across the tyre and automotive maintenance ecosystems.

TyreXpo Asia Singapore will continue to position itself as a marketplace dedicated to the global tyre industry, while AutoMROtive will focus on technologies and services shaping automotive maintenance, repair and operations, with particular emphasis on fleet servicing.

The exhibition will cover a broad range of segments, including passenger car, commercial vehicle and industrial tyres, alongside wheels and related accessories such as rims and tyre fillers. It will also feature tyre manufacturing, retreading and maintenance solutions, as well as automotive components including batteries and braking systems.

In addition, the event will showcase workshop equipment, diagnostic tools and digital maintenance technologies, including predictive systems. Sustainability is also expected to be a key theme, with solutions related to tyre recycling, disposal and waste management included in the line-up.

Organisers said the event is intended to support companies seeking to expand their presence in the region, offering opportunities to connect with distribution networks, generate sales leads and demonstrate new technologies to a targeted industry audience.

Sponsorship and branding options will be available for companies aiming to increase visibility or position themselves as thought leaders within the sector. These can be tailored to support objectives such as lead generation, market positioning and customer engagement.

The announcement comes as companies in the tyre and automotive aftermarket industries begin planning their sales and marketing strategies for 2027, with trade events expected to play a role in facilitating cross-border partnerships and market access in Asia.

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Toyo Tire Corporation said Mitsubishi Corporation has ceased to be a major shareholder after tendering its entire holding through a treasury share buyback, ending its status as the company’s largest shareholder.

The change took effect on 10^th August , 2026, following Toyo Tire’s acquisition of its own shares through off-auction trading (ToSTNeT-3). Mitsubishi tendered all its shares, excluding less than one unit, as part of the transaction.

As a result, Mitsubishi is no longer classified as a major shareholder or associated company of Toyo Tire, the company said.

Before the transaction, Mitsubishi held 30,822,206 shares, equivalent to 20.07 percent of total voting rights, and ranked as the largest shareholder. Following the change, its holding has effectively been reduced to zero.

The move follows Toyo Tire’s earlier announcement on August 7, 2026 regarding the termination of its capital and business alliance with Mitsubishi, alongside plans to repurchase its own shares.

Toyo Tire said the change would have no impact on its consolidated financial results.

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