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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Linglong Tire convened 120 European dealers in Milan from 10 to 13 October for its European Partner Conference, where CEO Lingkun ‘Andy’ Zhou and Vice President Yongchao ‘Aaron’ Xu outlined the company's latest developments, fiscal performance and future strategy. Zhou noted that despite a difficult and volatile market, Linglong achieved sales growth in the first half of 2026, crediting close cooperation with its European distribution partners.

Global Marketing head Kai You introduced the upcoming ‘Linglong Hub’ dealer programme, which offers quantity-based unit bonuses and tailored marketing packages such as POS materials to support in-shop sales. Andreas Krause, Head of Research and Development in Europe, presented forthcoming products from the Linglong, Crosswind and Leao brands, available from spring 2027, including the all-season Dura Master Van 4S and Leao Nova Force Van 4S for vans and campers, alongside the flagship UHP Linglong Sport Master 2.

Guests then travelled to Villongo, northeast of Milan, for the official opening of Western Europe's first Linglong Tire Center, inaugurated by Zhou together with Sebino Pneus owner Gigi Pezzotta and Fintyre Sales Director Renato Paghera. The fully branded facility is seen as a benchmark for further centres planned across Italy and Europe. The day continued at the Alfa Romeo Museum, a Stellantis brand and key original equipment customer, ending with a gala dinner featuring live Italian music.

The following day, dealers tested the Sport Master 2 at the Balocco test site near Milan, a 550-hectare facility with over 80 km of track, using various Mercedes-Benz and AMG models before a race taxi ride with a professional driver. The event closed with dinner and a dance and music show at El Porteno, setting the stage for the 2027 conference in London.

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Infiniteria Europe and Aliapur, a French State-approved eco-organisation, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue an agreement for supplying end-of-life tyres to two planned Infiniteria recycling plants in France. The MoU outlines intentions for a long-term supply arrangement in which Aliapur would furnish the end-of-life tyres needed to operate both facilities.

The agreement creates a framework for a secure, reliable and sustainable long-term supply chain and provides a foundation for continued development of both projects. Shortlisted sites are being assessed, with environmental impact studies under way. The partnership marks a significant milestone for the projects and reflects both companies’ shared commitment to recovering valuable secondary raw materials from end-of-life tyres, developing more circular industrial value chains and increasing tyre recycling capacity in France.

The collaboration combines Aliapur’s material recovery experience with Infiniteria Europe’s recycling solution development expertise. Both companies aim to build a strong long-term partnership supporting tyre recovery and recycling in France, and they look forward to further strengthening their collaboration as the projects advance through subsequent development stages.

Kajsa Ryttberg-Wallgren, CEO, Infiniteria Europe, said, “This MoU brings our two planned plants in France one step closer to realisation. They will form an important part of our broader ambition to build Europe’s leading business in circular tyre recycling, transforming end-of-life tyres into valuable resources for new uses.”

Mathieu Chardin, Managing Director, Aliapur, said, “Aliapur is proud to have been selected by Infiniteria Europe, an industrial company with proven expertise in tyre pyrolysis technology, as a strategic partner for the supply of raw materials to its future plants in France. This partnership also supports our commitment to France’s reindustrialisation and ecological transition, two priorities at the heart of the Government’s strategy for a more resilient, competitive and sustainable industry.”

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ETRTO held its 62nd General Assembly on 2 October in Nantes, France, drawing strong attendance from Full members and Experts, alongside the TNPF (Travaux de Normalisation des Pneumatiques pour la France) team, UNECE GRBP Chairman, a JATMA delegation and several Honorary members.

The Assembly approved a name change from European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation to European Tyre, Rim & Valve Technical Organisation while retaining the ETRTO acronym. It also endorsed all 80 Technical Subcommittee resolutions, set for inclusion in the 2027 Standards Manual and Engineering Design Information publications, and amendments to ETRTO Recommendations, due for free publication on the ETRTO website in five languages.

Christian Lerner (Continental) and Peter Roest (Apollo) were elected President and Vice President, respectively, for 2027. Presentations covered UNECE GRBP tyre regulatory trends and TNPF’s role in the French regulatory landscape, while Technical Subcommittee chairmen outlined activity highlights and future trends. ETRTO also demonstrated its new Data Portal, available for the Passenger Car tyre section from early 2027.

Appreciation was extended to Jérôme Barrand (Michelin, current ETRTO President) for organising the Assembly and to TNPF for hosting the Gala Dinner. The 63rd ETRTO General Assembly is scheduled for 1 October 2027.

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Sri Trang Group has been recognised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its efforts to promote financial and investment literacy among employees. Pacharin Anuwongwattanachai, Company Secretary of Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company Limited (STA), and Thanawan Sa-ngiamsak, Chief Financial Officer of Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) Public Company Limited (STGT), accepted the ‘Organization Promoting Financial and Investment Literacy for Employees’ certificates on behalf of their respective companies. The ceremony, held under the SEC's Financial Well-being in Workplace project, took place at the Royal Thai Army Club on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok on 9 October 2026.

The SEC accolade underscores Sri Trang Group's dedication to sustainable business practices, especially the social pillar of sustainability that prioritises comprehensive care for employees' quality of life and well-being. STA advances financial, investment and savings literacy through structured and ongoing financial education programmes. All eight categories of the SEC's online financial and investment lessons have been integrated into the companies' self-learning platforms, allowing staff to build skills independently. Training sessions with SEC experts cover financial and investment planning for salaried employees as well as retirement planning for those aged 50 and above and investment planning tailored to individual needs.

Disciplined saving is further encouraged through income and expense tracking, financial health check-ups and discussion groups in which employees exchange insights on managing provident fund investments with expert guidance. These measures help staff strengthen financial security, ease financial worries and sustainably improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. The approach reflects the Group's care for its people alongside its commitment to good corporate governance, aligning with annual reporting disclosures and the corporate governance assessment criteria for Thai listed companies.

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