Against the back of the impact of Covid-19, the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) says demand for passenger vehicle tyres is expected to fall due to limited transit demand and authorities in several states restricting citizens to limit contacts and moves. These were its findings in its latest members’ European tyre sales for the third quarter of 2020. The figures, it adds, confirm the strong impact of the Covid-19 pandemic delivering “worrying sales results for the industry”.
Mrs Fazilet Cinaralp, Secretary General of ETRMA adds, “As the numbers show, the crisis is hitting our industry quite heavily and the situation is not improving. The consumer sector is the more affected with a -14,4% compared to Q3 2019 in the tyres replacement market and a significant -30,4% in the original equipment tyres request. While we hope that the pandemic situation will improve, we also underline the urgent need to find the most suitable measures to support the tyre industry in order to preserve jobs in the sector” said. “Outlook for the end of the year remains gloomy and with a double-digit drop in sales expected across all segments”
The second quarter of 2020 had already showed an evident slowdown of sales brought by Covid, but the full effect has become even more evident in this third quarter where all the product lines remain affected by the current crisis, specially affected in consumer and two wheels segments, it adds.
After the lowest point was touched in May, ETRMA says, “We are now assisting to a timid positive sign with a Q3 better than last year in the truck, Moto/scooter and Agriculture vehicle segments.”
ETRMA represent nearly 4.400 companies in the EU, directly employing about 370.000 people. The global sales of ETRMA’s corporate members represent 70% of total global sales and 7 out of 10 world leaders in the sector are ETRMA members.