Summary of tyre sales in Poland in 2016 looks promising. In the category of passenger cars tyres, including SUV and light trucks, sales growth for the full year was up 13%. Also, comparing the 4th quarter of 2016 to 2015 growth reached impressive 18%. Positive trend is also growing sales of premium tyres – 14% per year. On the other hand, sales of middle class tyres grew by 7%, and sales of cheapest budget tyres by 1%. Particularly high growth could be seen in the SUV segment where annual growth was 20%, while in the van type vehicles and light trucks 11%.
– We can observe the significant increase in sales, compared to last year, at the market of passenger and truck tyres. We estimate that half of this growth comes from increased sales in Poland and half from increased export of tyres. Both the increase in sales of summer and winter tyres is very dynamic. Very important issue is to increase the value of the tyre market by more than 12%, resulting in large part from a change in mix, primarily by increasing sales of premium tyres for SUV and tyres 17 "+. These tyres increase the value of the market to a greater extent than the tyres of other sizes and segments – comments Jarosław Michalak, President of the Polish Association of the Tyre Industry.
The year for motorcycle and scooter tyres ended up with great success, where sales are growing for several years in a row – now 59% per annum and 82% when we compare last quarter of 2016 to 2015. This is, of course, the effect of increase in motorcycle and scooters‘ registrations on Polish roads.
In the truck tyres segment growth in the last quarter of 2016 amounted to 6%, but the picture changes if we compare annual sales - here there is a decrease of 1%.
- We hope that this is a longer lasting rebound after several quarters of succession. These lower results than market opportunities are the result of non branded tyres‘ import from East. Since 2012 the value of this import has doubled - indicates Piotr Sarnecki, Director General of PTiA. - We hope that the awareness regarding the profitability of tyres‘ purchase by transport companies will change. Currently we still look very often at the purchase price, forgetting that you must count the cost of the entire life of the tyre. And yet the tyres, although they make 5% of the fleet costs, have influence on 40% of operating costs of the transport company - he added..
Other categories of tyres, agricultural and industrial ones, unfortunately, are still inegative, both compared quarterly and on annual basis. Sales of agricultural tyres declined by 23% in the last quarter compared to the last quarter of 2015., and about 18% per year. Sales of industrial tyres fell by 20% in the last quarter and minus 17% per year (compared to 2015.).
How do the Polish results look like when compared to the European ones? In case of passenger car tyres growth rate in the whole continent it is slightly lower. In the last quarter the increase was 4%, but from the pespective of the whole year the increase is 2%. Motorcycle and scooter tyres category despite a slight decline in the last quarter (minus 1%) is 4% positive throughout the year.
Increasing sales can also be seen in the trucks tyres category - plus 7% compared quarterly (last quarter of 2016 to 2015), and plus 3% per year. This is the fourth year in a row, when annual sales in this category is growing. Agricultural tyres, similarly like in Poland, note decrease at about 6%, both comparing the year and the quarter.
- Summing up 2016 it is clear, that the sales is at the expected level for a mature market. As for 2017, it is difficult to expect further increases, especially with so many imported tyres - says Fazilet Cinaralp, Secretary General of ETRMA.
Source: Polish Tyre Industry Association