Chinese Tires to Dominate the Russian Market

China's tire exports to Russia continue to expand, putting competitive pressure on Russian domestic tire production. In 2025, Russia's total tire production fell by 21% year-on-year to 35.1 million units, with passenger car tire production declining by 20%.

This production gap was quickly filled by Chinese tire manufacturers—China's tire exports to Russia reached $510 million that year, accounting for about one-third of the Russian market, involving more than 200 brands. This occurred against the backdrop of a 15.6% decline in new car sales in Russia, while Chinese tire companies significantly increased their presence in the Russian market.

Data shows that in 2025, Russia's passenger car tire imports decreased slightly by 2% year-on-year to 25.4 million units, with Chinese products accounting for as much as 70%. Pirelli pointed out that the strengthening ruble further improved the cost-effectiveness of imported tires.

Currently, imported tires account for more than 50% of the Russian market, resulting in about 45% of domestic tire production capacity being idle. Although domestic factories have the capacity to meet domestic demand, they face significant price pressure due to competition from imported products.

From a demand structure perspective, Russian passenger car tire sales are expected to decline by about 10% year-on-year in 2025. Within the segmented market, summer tires accounted for 48%, studded winter tires for 31%, and studless tires for 18%. The average tire price rose by 9% that year, partially offsetting the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, but still failing to reverse the downward trend in sales.

The key to Chinese tires' rapid market penetration in Russia lies in filling a short-term production capacity gap of 23 million tires in the country. In 2022-2023, affected by EU sanctions on raw material shipments to Russia, many tire factories were forced to shut down; coupled with the fact that the Russian market accounts for less than 5% of global tire sales, four foreign tire companies chose to withdraw. This situation left Russia facing a production capacity gap of at least 23 million tires within a year, leading to a supply shortage.

With European and American companies unable to supply normally due to sanctions, Chinese tire manufacturers responded quickly, continuously expanding exports to Russia. According to Russian media reports, Russia imported at least 8 million more tires from China in 2023 than in previous years.

This trend is also evidenced at the exhibition level: during the 2023-2024 Guangrao Tire Exhibition, Russian dealers saw a continuous increase in sales; at the "Tire & Rubber 2025" exhibition held in Moscow, 142 Chinese companies participated, accounting for 58% of the total exhibitors. Several overseas institutions commented that Chinese tire companies are beneficiaries of Western sanctions against Russia, but their strong performance in the Russian market has also attracted attention from the local industry.

Meanwhile, Russia's domestic tire production capacity is gradually recovering. With domestic capital acquiring and restarting factories that had ceased production, more than 20 million tires of previously lost capacity are gradually returning. Following the resumption of production at Nokian Tyre's Russian factory under the domestic brand Ikon Tyre, the tire factory in Kaluga has also restarted operations. Domestic companies have a clear goal—to reshape market share and compete with imported brands again.

Specifically, regarding the progress of capacity recovery: In August 2023, the Russian industrial group S8 Capital invested €78 million to acquire the previously foreign-owned tire factory in Kaluga, renaming it Gislaved and quickly resuming production.

The factory officially resumed operations in 2024, and in February 2025, its manager disclosed that annual passenger car tire production capacity had recovered to 2.7 million units, exceeding expectations by 23%, and setting a record of 31,000 units shipped in a single day in 2024.

In comparison, Ikon Tyre's production recovery is even more remarkable: In March 2023, Russian energy company Tatneft acquired Nokian Tyre's former Russian factory for $307 million and quickly renovated it, resuming operations that same year; in the spring of 2024, it launched its first Ikon-branded summer tire, entering the stage of large-scale commercial production.

The rapid recovery of production capacity by these two domestic companies means that competition in the Russian market will further intensify, and Chinese tire companies will face new challenges in the region.