LEATHERHEAD, Surrey, UK and AKRON, Ohio, USA – May 4, 2022 – Energy efficient and sustainably built tires are an increasing priority across the automotive value chain, according to the latest exclusive study from Smithers. Its new report – The Future of Green Tires to 2027 – forecasts that sales value of such units will increase at an impressive 9.0% year-on-year across the next five years; rising form $129 billion (2022) to $202 billion (2027).

As such sustainable technologies in tire design and raw material supply are the focus for many R&D programmes, with a suite of more environmentally friendly tire models set to enter the market in 2022 and beyond.

In 2022, tire demand is making a hesitant recovery from the unprecedented disruption caused by the Covid-19, and it is now facing a market place reshaped by that experience. The world will never be the same again, and sustainability is increasingly one of the most important components of auto manufacturers’ post-pandemic corporate strategies. This is opening exciting market opportunities for tire manufacturers that have the correct technology holding, but also poses specific challenges for tire design across the next five years.

The most immediate priority is to improve rolling resistance of tires, cutting the carbon impact of the vehicle, while meeting the latest round of mandatory emissions and fuel economy standards. This trend is most pronounced in the commercial segment, where fleet managers can increasingly monitor the overall emission profile of their vehicles, and appreciate the return on investment.  In the passenger tire segment this is now strengthening, with the War in Ukraine and the resultant surge in petrol (gasoline) prices generating an extra incentive for consumers to purchase more fuel-efficient tires across 2022.

At the same time new mobility technologies are coming to market, with putting a large number of new electric vehicles on roads across the coming decade a priority for many car manufacturers. This is an opportunity for tire makers as these new vehicles require innovative tire designs that can both improve driving range, and offer better wear resistance to account for the extra weight and torque from battery electric power systems. As new electric car models enter the market, competition to secure OEM fitment contracts will become increasing fierce, as will the imperative to develop reliable sales channels for after-market servicing and replacement sales. 

Through 2021 and in 2022, tire OEMs have continued to lower their environmental impact through investment in greener material sets for tires. Smithers study authoritatively charts the outlook for various material types (natural rubber, synthetic elastomers, process oils, fillers, other chemicals/additives), including the market potential for harder wearing highly dispersible silica (HDS) fillers, and synthetic elastomer grades built from bio-based feedstocks. This is supported by additional analysis on the evolving technology for end-of-life recovery, processing and recycling of tires.

Smithers market analysis tracks these trends across all major tire types (PLT, TBR, OTR & other), and five geographic regions (Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, South and Central America, Middle East and Africa). 

The Future of Green Tires to 2027 provides unparalleled commercial insight into the current and future demand for green tires – globally and in specific high-growth segments. The market for 2017-2027 is examined critically and quantified (by value and volume) in an exclusive data set; which is supported by expert analysis of unmet technical needs, regulatory developments, tire and vehicle OEM corporate strategies, the status of post-Covid supply chains, and the immediate impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.