Scandinavian tyre service provider Citira sees robust potential for premium tyres in the Nordic region, driven by seasonal demands and safety priorities. CEO David Boman highlights that premium tyres including Pirelli’s offerings hold a significant share in passenger car, light truck and truck tyre segments supported by harsh winter conditions that emphasise performance and reliability. Despite a slight recent decline amid broader economic pressures and rising price sensitivity, premium brands remain relevant. Citira’s new long-term partnership with Pirelli and acquisition of Dackia AB aims to consolidate and optimise premium tyre distribution across Sweden.

Scandinavian tyre service company Citira recently told Tyre Trends that Nordic countries have excellent potential for premium tyres during a discussion over its partnership with Italian tyre major Pirelli.

Speaking on the market potential, Chief Executive Officer David Boman said, “When it comes to the Nordic markets, Scandinavia in particular has a relatively high share of premium tyres across categories including passenger car, light truck and TBR segments. Compared to other global regions, the demand for premium tyres here is notably strong.

“One of the main reasons for this is the seasonal nature of our market. Winter tyres, in particular, drive a more premium-oriented approach because of the need for high performance and safety under harsh conditions. While we’ve observed a slight decline in the premium tyre share over the past few years, it still holds a significant portion of the market. This demand is closely tied to seasonal safety concerns, especially in winter, autumn and early spring. Drivers here prioritise safety and reliability, which naturally supports the continued relevance of premium brands like Pirelli.”

He noted that the decline is likely tied to broader financial challenges in the market, especially following the Covid period. Both consumers and companies have become more price-sensitive, making cost a bigger factor in purchase decisions.

As a result, there’s been a gradual increase in demand for lower-cost, imported non-European tyre brands, while the market share of European premium tyre brands has slightly decreased.

Pirelli and Citira have entered a long-term strategic partnership aimed at enhancing their market presence in Sweden. As part of the deal, Citira will acquire Dackia AB that has a network of 102 retail outlets from Pirelli.

In return, Pirelli and Dackia have signed a supply agreement extending to 2030, ensuring Pirelli remains the main tyre supplier. The transaction, pending regulatory approval, is expected to close by 2025. The partnership will boost Pirelli’s distribution and market coverage while supporting Citira’s goal of expanding a sustainable, flexible and high-quality customer service network.

THE PACT

Citira currently runs over 50 tyre shops and over five retreading units across Scandinavia and Poland. “Citira is actively working towards creating a more efficient and consolidated tyre market. While our current focus is primarily on the Scandinavian region, it’s not out of the question that we may consider expanding beyond this geographic perimeter in the future. This agreement is part of a broader industry trend where partnerships and acquisitions are used to enhance efficiency, strengthen distribution networks and provide end customers with better service coverage,” revealed Boman.

Nonetheless, the deal specifically pertains to the Swedish market, and as part of the regulatory process, Citira has conducted a market analysis to understand the potential implications on market share. However, the specifics of that study were said to be confidential and could not be disclosed prior to the official closing of the deal.

Explaining how this partnership will influence the supply chain of premium tyre in the Nordics, Boman said, “We do anticipate some changes, particularly within Citira. We operate a number of logistics centres, and this partnership presents an opportunity to optimise our overall supply chain setup. Enhancing logistics will be a key enabler of better service and responsiveness in premium tyre distribution.”

He added, “This particular deal is unlikely to have a direct or immediate impact on independent retailers or smaller distributors. More broadly, the Scandinavian tyre retail sector is undergoing consolidation. Several players are actively reshaping the competitive landscape and that trend could gradually influence the positioning of independents. But again, this specific acquisition is not a disruptive event in that context.”

Alluding to the current demand for replacement tyres, he said, “In general, the tyre market has proven to be quite non-cyclical. Even in challenging economic conditions, it tends to remain stable. That said, I believe we’re entering a phase where circularity and life-extension solutions will gain more momentum. We’re likely to see increased focus on services that extend tyre life, especially for larger fleets. This shift won’t just be driven by cost or fleet uptime concerns but increasingly by environmental responsibilities.”

THE BUSINESS

According to Boman, Pirelli represents a very minimal share of Citira’s overall sales, currently. However, the strategic partnership mainly revolves around Dackia and Pirelli, and the former is intended to become part of the Citira Group. “Moving forward, there is definitely an opportunity to deepen the collaboration with Pirelli and potentially grow their share within our overall brand mix,” added Boman.

Citira currently follows a multi-brand strategy and will continue with it even after closing of the deal. Besides, it is also involved in process and sales of retreaded TBR tyres and wheel rims.

“We operate a facility in Poland where we refurbish truck and bus rims. The process involves media blasting and repainting the rims to restore its appearance and functionality. The logic behind it is quite similar to retreading. In most cases, the structural integrity of the rim is still intact; it’s just the surface or aesthetics that degrade over time. By restoring these rims, we’re able to extend the life and reduce waste,” said Boman.

The company operates five retreading facilities collectively, located in Finland, Sweden and Poland. It uses both hot-cure and cold-cure retreading methods. Hot-cure is used in Poland and cold retreading in Finland and Sweden. Annually, it retreads around 160,000 tyres, averaging about 13,000 per month. While its current focus is on retreading, Citira is actively exploring expansion into tyre recycling as part of a broader push towards sustainability and circularity.

The company also manages tyre distribution for fleets across countries. Its circular tyre distribution approach involves not only delivering new tyres to customers but also collecting used tyre casings from them. These casings are then sent back to its retreading facilities, creating a closed-loop system. Besides, Citira has different suppliers across Europe for sourcing tyres for retreading.

MARKET WATCH

Citira sees a strong willingness in the market for consolidation and it has already engaged in several partnerships. Commenting on market challenges, Boman said, “One key challenge is the need for a player capable of driving consolidation at a larger scale. In the Scandinavian markets, this kind of brand-independent consolidation hasn’t really taken place over the last 10 to 15 years. Previously, consolidation efforts were primarily led by tyre manufacturers or affiliate networks players. However, consolidation has largely been on hold recently, leaving space for an independent actor to step in. We see that opportunity clearly and believe it is well received both by other market participants and customers. The challenge lies in successfully executing this consolidation while maintaining trust and delivering value across a diverse market.”

Commenting on the demand for retreading, he said, “The Scandinavian market has a long tradition of retreading heavy vehicle tyres. Currently, there is a growing shift towards pay-per-kilometre or tyre-as-a-service models, especially among large fleets like bus companies and hauliers. Notably, public tenders increasingly require a certain share of retreaded tyres, reflecting a strong environmental focus. Retreading extends the life of a tyre by reusing about 70 percent of its original material, making it a significant sustainability tool. The market share of retreaded tyres is gradually increasing with expectations that the retread market will grow faster than the new tyre market in the coming years.”

“The main challenges for the retreading industry lie in overcoming the longstanding perception that retreaded tyres are merely a low-cost option rather than an environmentally friendly and sustainable product. This is mostly prevalent is Scandinavia and it is crucial to shift this mindset by educating customers and the broader market about the true benefits of retreading. Moving away from a purely price-driven sales approach to one that highlights quality, durability and positive environmental impact remains a significant hurdle for the industry,” he added.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Toyo Tire Corporation will implement organisational changes and leadership reassignments from 1st  October  2026, as part of efforts to strengthen execution of its medium-term business plan.

The restructuring is designed to reinforce strategy execution under the direct supervision of the president, in line with priorities set out in the company’s Mid-Term ’26 Plan.

Under the changes, the Americas Sales Division will be elevated to the Americas Business Headquarters and placed directly under the president. The division’s sales department will be renamed the Americas Business Development Department and transferred to the new structure.

The company will also move its ESG Promotion Department from the Corporate Infrastructure Division to the Corporate Strategy Division to align sustainability initiatives more closely with business strategy. In addition, the investor relations department will shift to the Corporate Administration Division.

Toyo Tire Corporation confirmed changes to executive responsibilities, including the appointment of Tatsuo Mitsuhata as Senior Corporate Officer And Vice-President of the Americas Business Headquarters. He will also continue to serve as representative Director And Chief Executive of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. and President And Chief Executive of Toyo Tire North America OE Sales LLC.

Further personnel changes include Kunihiro Matsumoto becoming Deputy Division General Manager of the Corporate Administration Division, while Nobuo Yoshida will serve as General Manager of the Corporate Strategy Division.

Miho Okamoto and Junji Hirose will assume roles within the Corporate Strategy Division, overseeing ESG-related functions, while Hiroshi Ito will take responsibility for the investor relations department under the Corporate Administration Division.

Kenji Kubo has been appointed General Manager of the Americas Business Development Department.

Additional appointments include Misaki Nagao as General Manager of Quality Assurance Department No.1, while Wataru Matsumoto will assume the role of General Manager of the Commercial Tire Technical Service Department from November 1 2026.

At subsidiary level, Keiko Brockel will become President And Chief Executive of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc., while Angelo Naval will be appointed President And Chief Executive of Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Tom Pemberton never set out to build an audience. He set out to document a Tuesday, filming the quiet, unglamorous reality of running a working farm in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. Years later, that instinct has turned him into one of the most recognised faces in British agriculture, the man behind Tom Pemberton Farm Life.

At the LAMMA Show 2026, that instinct collided with a very different kind of machine: the global manufacturing engine of Maxam Tyre Europe, a division of the Sailun Group. The result is a new partnership under which Pemberton will fit MAXAM agricultural tyres to his own machinery and share, unfiltered, how they perform. Harry Wang, General Manager of Sailun Group Europe, points to Maxam’s credentials – testing by DLG, the German Agricultural Society, and its role as an original equipment partner to CASE IH and New Holland – as the backdrop to the deal. “Now is the time to further develop the brand and spread the word within the farming community. We feel privileged that Tom has agreed to work with the Maxam brand – and we really like his style and share the same passion for farming,” he says.

FROM A PHONE IN A FIELD TO A FOLLOWING

For farming influencer Tom Pemberton, known for his popular Tom Pemberton Farm Life digital channels, none of it was planned. “I never expected any of this when I first started putting videos online. At the beginning, it was literally just me filming bits of day-to-day farm life and showing the reality of it, the good days, the bad days and everything in between. I think people connected with that because it wasn’t polished or overthought, it was just real,” Pemberton says.

That word, real, threads through almost everything he says about his career. He never sat down with a grand plan for what the channel might become; it began with picking up a phone and filming the day’s work, whatever that happened to be. What changed everything, he believes, was honesty. “I’ve never tried to make farming look perfect because the reality is it isn’t. Some days are brilliant, and some days are stressful, exhausting and frustrating, but that’s real life in agriculture, and people appreciate honesty,” he says.

What has surprised him most is not the loyalty of the farming audience but the appetite from everyone else – a public curiosity about where food comes from that goes far beyond agricultural circles. Social media, he believes, has thrown open the doors of a world that used to keep largely to itself. “Farming used to be quite a closed world in many ways, but now people are sharing ideas, machinery, problems and experiences instantly. It’s opened the industry up massively and given people a real insight into modern farming,” Pemberton says.

That openness has reshaped his own life too. He still describes himself, first and foremost, as a farmer, but one who has found himself combining the daily rhythm of the farm with content and with brand partnerships he says he genuinely believes in. Pemberton adds. “I’m passionate about the industry, and if I can help showcase farming in a positive way whilst having a bit of fun along the way, then that’s a pretty good position to be in.”

WHY TYRES MATTER MORE THAN PEOPLE THINK

It is against that backdrop that tyres, of all things, enter the story. To an outsider, a tyre might seem like the least glamorous component on any piece of farm machinery. Pemberton sees it very differently.

“People sometimes underestimate just how important tyres are on a modern farm. They’re one of those things that can make a massive difference to productivity, efficiency and downtime, especially with the size and weight of modern machinery now,” he says.

Reliability, for him, is measured in hours lost during the exact weeks of the year when there are no hours to spare. “When you’re in the middle of summer harvesting, or trying to beat the weather, the last thing you need is machinery standing still because of tyre issues. Downtime costs money and also adds stress and pressure at the busiest times of the year,” Pemberton says.

Over time, the YouTuber has also come to appreciate the quieter ways tyres shape a farm’s performance and its footprint, from traction and fuel consumption through to the condition of the soil itself. “The right tyre setup can genuinely improve how a machine performs in the field and on the road,” Pemberton says, and it is precisely that intersection of performance and technology that drew him toward Maxam in the first place.

HOW THE MAXAM RELATIONSHIP BEGAN

His account of how the relationship began is notably unsentimental about brand marketing and notably specific about people. What attracted him first, Pemberton says, was attitude rather than advertising – a willingness on Maxam’s part to work directly with farmers and to actually listen to the people using the tyres, day in and day out.

“From the first conversations, it felt like they genuinely cared about performance and real-world applications rather than just selling a product,” Pemberton says. Since then, running the tyres has only reinforced that impression, with build quality, traction and comfort standing out under the kind of workload modern machinery now routinely demands. “Farming conditions are tough, and tyres have to cope with a huge mix of road work, heavy loads and field work, so reliability is a massive thing for me,” he says.Above all, though, he returns to a single condition for any partnership: authenticity. “For me, it’s important that any partnership feels authentic and that I can honestly talk about the products I’m using on the farm, and that’s something that’s worked really well with Maxam. If I’m going to work with a brand and put my name to something, I want to properly understand the people behind it, the quality of the product and what goes into developing it,” Pemberton says.

He is candid about why that matters so much in farming specifically: farmers are practical people who can spot inauthenticity almost immediately, which means trust has to be earned through real experience rather than through marketing language.

THE FARM VISIT THAT SEALED IT

The turning point came when the Maxam team travelled to his farm in person, a moment Pemberton returns to with evident warmth.

“The real ice breaker for me was when the guys from Maxam came over to the farm to talk things through, see the place and meet me and my family. I genuinely felt like they would have happily gone straight to work on the farm that day. That made a real impression on me and showed they genuinely cared about the partnership,” Pemberton says. Learning more about the manufacturing and testing behind the tyres only deepened that confidence, revealing an engineering effort behind agricultural tyres he suspects most people never stop to consider.

Ask him about the specific technology that has impressed him most, and Pemberton points to a campaign Maxam has been running in UK under the banner ‘More Pull. Less Fuel’, which draws on the brand’s DLG test results. It is a bold promise, he acknowledges, tackling two problems that sit at the top of almost every farmer’s list simultaneously: productivity and fuel costs. “I was curious if they could really make that stretch of increasing productivity and saving fuel at the same time, a pain point for all farmers,” Pemberton says.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS FROM THE FIELD

As for how the tyres are performing on his own machinery, Pemberton is careful not to overstate an early verdict. “To be honest, we have just started, so it’s a bit early to give some in-depth analysis. But my gut feeling from the first weeks out on the fields is very good. No traction issues even in the muddy and ultra-wet areas,” Pemberton says, adding with the kind of dry humour familiar to anyone who follows his channel that the tyres look rather good on his Maxxum too.

SOIL, SUSTAINABILITY AND THE WEIGHT OF MODERN MACHINERY

Beneath the light-hearted asides sits a more serious concern that has come to define much of modern farming: what machinery does to the ground beneath it. Soil compaction and sustainability, Pemberton says, are now unavoidable topics in agriculture, and rightly so.

“The right tyres and pressures can make a huge difference when it comes to reducing compaction, improving flotation and protecting soil structure, especially with modern machinery becoming bigger and heavier every year. Healthy soil is everything in farming and once you damage it, it can take a long time to recover,” Pemberton says. It is a subject he has grown more attentive to over the years, one that now sits alongside traction and durability rather than behind them.

None of this, in Pemberton’s mind, can be judged from a spec sheet. “You can read specs and brochures all day long, but until a product is out working in proper conditions, carrying weight, travelling on the road and dealing with different weather and soil types, you don’t really know how it’s going to perform,” he says.

Farmers, Pemberton adds, listen to other farmers above almost anyone else, which is exactly why he tries to share honest, unvarnished feedback rather than polished endorsement. For Pemberton personally, the metrics that matter most over time are simple: reliability, durability and consistent performance. “Farming is hard enough without equipment letting you down,” he says.

STAYING TRUSTWORTHY WHILE WORKING WITH BRANDS

It is this instinct for honesty that also explains how Pemberton has managed to work with commercial partners without losing the trust of an audience built on authenticity in the first place. The answer, he suggests, is refreshingly uncomplicated: only work with brands you actually believe in. “My audience would spot straight away if I was promoting something just for the sake of it, and that’s never been what my content is about,” Pemberton says. Whatever machinery or products appear on his channel are there because he is genuinely using them and genuinely curious about how they perform, a distinction that matters enormously to viewers who have followed his farm through years of unscripted reality.

That trust, he says, has been reinforced rather than tested by how closely Maxam and Sailun have worked with him. It began, again, with that farm visit, and it has continued since. “They really listen. Like I said earlier, they came out to the farm, spent time with me and the team here, and didn’t just leave after a quick look around. For me, that says a lot. I already feel like I know the people behind the brand personally rather than it feeling like just another partnership. That’s the true ‘in real life’ view that makes all the difference. You don’t always get that. That’s the sort of thing that builds trust and makes partnerships feel genuine rather than just business,” Pemberton explains.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE FROM HERE

So what does success look like from here, for a partnership that is only just getting started? Pemberton’s answer is less about targets and more about continuity – the relationship staying genuine and mutually beneficial as it grows, with him continuing to show his audience how the tyres perform in real working conditions and giving honest feedback drawn from daily farming life, because that, he believes, is what people relate to most. He also wants to keep expanding the content itself, offering his audience more behind-the-scenes insight into modern farming, machinery and the challenges the industry faces.

From the partnership’s side, he sees success in terms of relationships that deepen over time rather than a single campaign that fades. Farming, he points out, is changing constantly, and social media is only becoming a bigger part of how the industry communicates. There is one particular ambition on his list that captures the curiosity running through the whole partnership: a visit to see Maxam’s factories in person, to understand, as he puts it, how they do their magic.

It is a fitting note to end on. For Pemberton, this was never going to be a partnership built on a logo stitched onto a jacket or a scripted line delivered to camera. It is built on the same principle that built his channel in the first place: show the real thing, and let people decide for themselves. For a company the size of Sailun, betting its Maxam brand’s UK farming credibility on that principle is a considerable act of trust. For Pemberton, it is simply how he has always worked.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

In a significant move to revive its iconic legacy in India, Dunlop Tyres is accelerating expansion plans with a sharp focus on in-house manufacturing capacity for commercial vehicle tyres and strategic collaborations in the consumer segment.

Executive Director Sakchi Ruia outlines an ambitious roadmap that leverages the brand’s pioneering heritage, embraces electrification and targets value-driven growth across key segments amid a rapidly evolving Indian tyre market.

In the competitive landscape of the Indian tyre industry, few names carry the historical weight of Dunlop. As the pioneer of the pneumatic tyre globally and a foundational player in India since 1896, the brand is poised for a significant revival.

In an exclusive interaction with Tyre Trends, Sakchi Ruia, Executive Director of Dunlop Tyres, shared her vision for breathing new life into the iconic marque, focusing on capacity expansion, segment-specific growth and adaptation to emerging technologies such as electrification.

Ruia, an MBA from Columbia Business School who brings experience from McKinsey & Company, has been instrumental in steering Dunlop’s operations since joining in 2023. Her leadership emphasises leveraging the brand’s storied heritage while addressing modern market dynamics.

“Dunlop as we all know is the first tyre brand in the world, first pneumatic tyre brand and it has been very monumental in India as well. We have very big plans for the brand and are looking to really revive the brand here. We are exploring both greenfield and brownfield opportunities,” she reveals.

The company has already made inroads in the truck and bus radial (TBR) segment, with broader ambitions spanning multiple vehicle categories. This strategic revival comes at a time when India’s automotive sector is experiencing robust growth across consumer and commercial segments, driven by rising vehicle ownership and evolving consumer preferences.

NAVIGATING A COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

India’s tyre market is one of the most fiercely contested globally, with legacy domestic players, international entrants and new challengers vying for share.

When asked about competition, Ruia embraces it as a catalyst for progress. “I think competition is good, right? I think it takes the industry forward with the competition,” she notes.

“I think we see a lot of stakeholder development, ecosystem development. Like we see a lot of machine makers are now coming to India to manufacture. And that’s because of the whole pool of all the players combined,” she explains.

Dunlop, she emphasises, on the other hand, is no newcomer. “Dunlop is not a new player in the industry. It’s a legacy player, it’s seen the wave, it’s been there.” She highlights the ample room for growth in a market where demand has not yet outstripped supply.

“I think there’s a lot of space for a lot of players right now. It’s not a space where demand is far exceeding supply still. So I think there’s a lot of space for people to really make their mark,” she avers.

Ruia pointed to supportive policies favouring locally manufactured tyres as an opportunity for Indian players, including Dunlop, to flourish. The ecosystem, she believes, benefits the entire industry and enables established brands with heritage to differentiate themselves through quality and reliability.

ADDRESSING COST-CONSCIOUSNESS AND VALUE IN COMMERCIAL TYRES

On the other hand, coming to the commercial vehicle segment, which continues to remain highly cost-sensitive, Ruia argues that true value lies beyond upfront pricing.

Discussing the competitive nature of business and the acquisition cost for commercial vehicle customers, she observes, “I think what feeds drivers value in the commercial segment is cost per kilometre. So that really gives advantage to the value players. It’s about providing value-for-money; whoever’s manufacturing quality tyres really gets value.”

She notes that Indian customers in this segment are discerning. “India is a very quality-conscious market in that regard. Because they look at cost per kilometre, not just cost per tyre. They want tyres which run longer kilometres, give better mileage. I think there’s a lot of scope and space and the market itself filters out the players,” says Ruia.

On the concept of tyre-as-a-service or cost-per-kilometre models gaining traction among competitors, Ruia expresses keen interest.

“Cost per kilometre for sure, we work heavily in the commercial segment with the TBR. We really do see that the end-consumers are very supportive for this metric. And they really value the lifelong value of the tyre that they get, not just upfront cost. Tyre-as-a-service is very interesting; we haven’t explored it yet. But that’s something which I was also very interested to hear about today,” she says.

CAPACITY EXPANSION AND SEGMENT PRIORITIES

A cornerstone of Dunlop’s future strategy is establishing in-house manufacturing capacity, particularly for the commercial segment. Ruia confirms that plans are advancing, though details remain under wraps for now.

“I think once the announcement is there, everyone will know about it. It’s initial stages right now. We’re in discussions about really formalising and crystallising the plans,” she explains.

Furthermore, the company is already evaluating both greenfield and brownfield options, with timelines tied to ongoing discussions. In the interim, Dunlop maintains presence in two- and three-wheeler tyres through partners (Ludhiana-based Ralson India), a segment close to the brand’s heritage where it once held significant market share. “Two- and three-wheeler remains very close to Dunlop’s heart. We’ve always done well in this segment,” Ruia affirms.

Passenger car radial tyres (PCR) are on the longer-term horizon. “PCR tyres again is something which is in the pipeline, not in the foreseeable future. But eventually, yes, we’d want to get into that segment as well. It is growing. So, you know, let’s see how the plans evolve. Right now, our focus is the commercial segment,” the Dunlop executive says.

Ruia explains that collaboration opportunities in the consumer segment will complement in-house commercial production.

Outlining her top three priorities for the next 3–5 years, Ruia says, “I think the top thing that we’re looking for is to definitely have in-house capacity for commercial vehicle tyres. That’s one thing which is top of mind for us. We are also looking to explore good collaboration opportunities in the consumer segment. Because we’re going to be doing in-house manufacturing for the commercial segment. That’s going to be number two. And number three, I think we really, really want to focus on the new-age solutions.”

EMBRACING ELECTRIFICATION AND NEW-AGE TECHNOLOGIES

Electrification represents both a challenge and a major opportunity for the global automotive and allied industry. With trucks and buses increasingly shifting to electric powertrains, tyre requirements are evolving rapidly.

“I think, electrification is a very interesting and exciting opportunity for everyone across the board, consumer and commercial,” Ruia says.

“There are some unique requirements for tyres, such as lower rolling resistance, ability to handle higher instantaneous torque, reinformed sidewalls and lower noise due to the silent nature of EVs. Electric vehicles are going to be much heavier, less noisy and have high torque requirements. So tyres will also need to take shape accordingly,” Ruia says.

Key adaptations will include better sidewalls, enhanced load resistance and reduced noise levels. “I think the industry as a whole will develop tyres to meet those requirements. I don’t think it’s going to be an option for anyone (to not develop EV tyres). But we’ll all evolve to meet those requirements,” she says.

Ruia stressed that the tyre industry will align with government focus on EVs. “I think the government is also focusing a lot on EVs. And I think the tyre industry will flow with that demand,” she adds.

She mentions that new-age product development, particularly for EVs, forms a critical part of Dunlop’s forward-looking strategy.

As Dunlop moves to formalise its expansion plans, the focus remains on quality, heritage and innovation. Ruia’s pragmatic yet optimistic outlook underscores a brand ready to reclaim its position by combining legacy strengths with forward-thinking investments in capacity, partnerships and technology.

For the tyre industry, Dunlop’s revival signals not just renewed competition but also fresh momentum in expanding choices for consumers in India. With in-house manufacturing on the horizon and a clear emphasis on value-driven performance and electrification, the company is positioning itself for sustainable, long-term growth in one of the world’s most dynamic markets.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The Tire Society will hold its 45th Annual Conference and Business Meeting on Tire Science and Technology on 22–23 September at the University of Akron, as the industry turns its attention to digitalisation and data-led development.

The not-for-profit organisation said the event, themed “Reinventing the Tire: Digital Transformation, Data-Driven Advances, and Predictive Methods”, will bring together engineers, researchers and executives from manufacturers, suppliers, laboratories and universities across North America, Europe and Asia.

The two-day programme will feature presentations from invited speakers and researchers on developments in analytical, experimental, digital and computational science of tyres.

Young Gon Shin, Vice-President of Hyundai Motor Company’s MSV Chassis Engineering Design Group and chair of its Tire System Expert Committee, will deliver the opening keynote. His address, “Reinventing Tire Development for the SDV Era: Closing the Loop through Connected Data and Digital Twin Transformation,” will examine the impact of electrification and software-defined vehicles on tyre development.

Across five technical sessions, nearly 20 presentations will cover topics including tyre models for vehicle simulation, physics-based modelling, durability and rolling resistance, lifecycle analysis, and emerging technologies such as tyre sensors and hydroplaning detection.

The programme will also include two plenary lectures. Thomas J.R. Hughes of the University of Texas at Austin will present “The Finite Element Method and Isogeometric Analysis: Past, Present, Future”, while Bruno Finco and Girish Radhakrishnan of MOVEdot will discuss “AI Agents in Tire R&D: Accelerating Design Cycles Across Lab, Track, and Simulation.”

The first day will conclude with an awards banquet featuring the Society’s annual awards presentation led by Jason Bokar of Michelin Americas R&D Corporation, and a speech from Chris Chapman of MongoDB titled “The Data Intelligence Layer: Building Agentic Systems with Memory.”

Day two will include the Society’s annual business meeting and state of the organisation address, alongside distinguished award presentations.

“This year's program captures a real inflection point in our industry — tire engineering is moving from a testing-centered process to one built around connected data, digital twins, and predictive models,” said Adam Stackpole, 2026 conference programme chair. “We're excited to bring the tire science community together in Akron to share this work and set the agenda for what comes next.”

Registration details and the full programme are available via the organisation’s website.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!