Top 10 global car tire manufacturers in 2021

There are niches in which the competition is off scale. As a rule, these are products using assembly technology, and the most striking example is the automotive industry. On the other hand, the independent manufacture of motors or computer processors is a task that only giant companies can handle, requiring huge investments in research and implementation of innovations in the final product. Tire business is somewhere in the middle - car tires are produced by many companies, including not very well-known, but the highest quality products are a dozen or two well-known brands with a good reputation and long history, spending a large part of the budget on laboratory research in order to improve the performance of their tires.

Today you will get acquainted with the best tire manufacturers, which is compiled based on the results of taking into account the market share and, of course, the opinions of ordinary users and auto experts. Note that every second tire is produced at factories belonging to our rating tire companies.

Bridgestone

As it should be, the company leads the rating of the best tire manufacturers, the total market share of which, according to available data, is close to 20%, and this is only car tires. In addition to them, the Japanese also produce tires for planes and Formula 1 racing cars. In general, their range includes many high-speed models, but there are also lines for SUVs and crossovers.

Currently, the main emphasis in development is on optimizing the distribution of pressure on the tires, for which designers are trying to increase the contact area with the roadway within the framework of certain specifications. Such developments allow more efficient use of drainage to drain water, improve the coefficient of adhesion to any type of coating and increase directional stability.

The following tire lines are especially popular among domestic motorists:

• Turanza is the best variant of tires for large cars: pickups, SUVs, minivans;
• B700AQ, designed for urban small cars, are characterized by low weight, which affects the efficiency of the car;
• Potenza is a universal range of tires suitable for most car models;
• SportsTourer. As you might guess, these tires are the choice of high-speed driving adherents, athletes, rally drivers, and drift enthusiasts. They are characterized by improved strength properties, provide quick response to steering turns.

Michelin

The French brand is also one of the grandees, being a very popular manufacturer of car tires. The company's enterprises are scattered all over the world, this is the trademark's business card. This practice contributes to maintaining an optimal pricing policy without loss of quality - the production process is carefully regulated and respected unquestioningly.

One of the world's best tire manufacturers specializes in the manufacture of tires for passenger cars, winter / summer, with a wide range of standard sizes. Much attention is paid to optimizing the compound composition in order to increase the durability of the rubber and the ability to maintain its original characteristics as the tread wears down. Scientists of the company managed to achieve strengthening of intermolecular bonds, which made it possible to increase the reliability of tires and their ability to withstand prolonged loads without showing signs of "fatigue".

Work is underway to give the tires a design that will satisfy all categories of motorists, there are developments in the field of maintaining sufficient tire pressure for driving in the event of a puncture.

Among the most sought after tire lines are Alpin, X-Ice (both have several variations), Primacy, Energy, and, of course, Pilot Sport.

Continental

As one of the best manufacturers of tires for cars and trucks, the German company is also known as a major rubber processor, holding the first place in this indicator in Germany.

The brand's factories annually produce over 90 million tires for passenger cars and about 6 million for trucks.

It is Continental that pioneered the production of rubber with pronounced anti-slip properties, and this compound formed the basis of modern compounds for studded tires. Initially, the company's factories were located only in Germany, which increased the cost of production, but later, following the dictates of the time, it was decided to transfer production to other countries, mainly to European ones.

In addition to tires for trucks and cars, the brand's assortment also includes products for agricultural machinery, as well as for motorcycles. Many car manufacturers choose Continental tires as standard for their models, including all German companies, General Motors, Japanese Toyota and Nissan, so the tires of this brand are rightly attributed to the premium segment.

The company has a strong scientific base, and all new products are thoroughly tested in laboratory conditions, at stands, at an autodrome, with the measurement of such indicators as tire wear resistance, braking distance, handling. The brand's all-season tires are considered particularly successful.

Pirelli

The Italian tire brand is one of the oldest in Europe - the company was founded in 1872. Regardless of its age, the company from year to year successfully competes with the market leaders, focusing on the production of high-speed tires, which, in principle, is quite expected, given the Italians' love of racing. Not surprisingly, Pirelli is the tire supplier for many Formula 1/2 teams. At present, it ranks fifth in the world in the production of automobile tires, it has 24 enterprises in 13 countries. There is also a Pirelli plant in Russia.

The research department of the company is working both to improve the composition of the rubber compound and to optimize the tread pattern using modern methods of computer mathematical modeling. This allows the tires of the brand to demonstrate excellent traction with the road surface, improve vehicle handling and minimize the manifestation of the aquaplaning effect on wet roads.

The addition of silicon to the mixture can significantly improve the strength characteristics of tires, their wear resistance and the ability to continue driving when punctured (which is also facilitated by the presence of a special inner layer in the tires and the high rigidity of the sidewall).

Nokian

The most popular Finnish brand, which from year to year is invariably included in the top 10 best tire manufacturers. Like Pirelli, it has more than a century of history (the company was founded in 1898).It specializes in the manufacture of tires intended for use in regions with difficult climatic conditions. Nokian became the first company in the world to introduce winter tires for commercial vehicles. It currently has factories in all parts of the planet.

We have a well-known line of summer tires Hakka Green, characterized by an asymmetric tread pattern with a predominance of specially designed drainage channels and ribs that help to reduce air turbulence, reducing the level of noise emitted by tires.

The Nordman PC line of winter tires, designed for use on passenger cars in countries with severe winters, is also very popular. The improved ride characteristics of the tires have been largely achieved through computer simulations.

As a rule, all tires of this manufacturer are characterized by high resistance to aquaplaning and excellent wear resistance, differing in softness in high-speed driving mode and excellent handling.

Winter tires are produced in studded and friction versions, and non-studded rubber is characterized by the presence of a large number of sipes that improve the vehicle's directional stability when driving on a winter road.

Goodyear

The multinational tire company, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, USA, has introduced many useful innovations over its long history of tire manufacturing. So, it was she who owned the 1904 patent for tires of a removable form factor, and it was Goodyear who became a contractor for Ford, which in 1908 established the production of the world's first production car. A year later, the first pneumatic tire for the aviation industry appeared, in 1921 an off-road tire appeared, and in 1934 Goodyear presented the first tire capable of maintaining vehicle stability when punctured. Nowadays the proprietary RunOnFlat technology is used by many tire brands.

Ranking sixth in the rating of manufacturers of rubber for passenger cars, the company still actively uses innovations developed in its research centers. For example, using sound-absorbing foam or Smart Wear technology in the rubber compound, which allows you to maintain the basic parameters of the tire, regardless of the degree of its wear.

It can also be noted that Goodyear holds the record for the number of developed tire models - winter, summer, all-season, for cars and SUVs, off-road tires.

Yokohama

It will not come as a surprise to anyone that many motorists consider the best rubber tires from Yokohama, a company that has been on the market since 2017. At present, the headquarters of the tire company is located in Tokyo, and the network of representative offices is in a number of countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Produces tires of all types for cars and trucks, for sports and racing cars. It is on the latter that new tire models are mainly tested, and the identified shortcomings are eliminated.

Yokohama tires are soft, and high strength properties are achieved through the use of a special seamless cord. Usually, the brand's rubber does not suffer from diseases such as the appearance of hernias, confidently overcoming any obstacles.

The company's products are very popular in the Old World, largely due to the environmental friendliness of tires and the absence of the destructive effect of tires on the roadway.

Dunlop

A brand that is not very popular in Russia, but in Europe many Dunlop models are bestsellers. It is worth noting that the eighth-ranked tire manufacturer has been on the market since 1889 and was the first monopoly contractor for Formula 1. Currently, 75% of the company's shares are owned by Goodyear, and the brand has factories in 8 countries.

Normally, Dunlop tires are installed on Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Ford, Renault, on the models of all German automakers, which clearly indicates the high quality and excellent performance of the British brand tires.

Dunlop was the first to develop a rubber compound with water-repellent properties, and it also takes the lead in adding "silica" to the compound, which allows the rubber to remain elastic at all temperatures.

Toyo

The Japanese are an enterprising nation. As soon as the iron curtain fell from the country, new tech companies began to appear like mushrooms after rain. One of them, formed in 1945, was a company that managed to squeeze out many more experienced and well-known brands. Today tires under this trademark are equipped with new cars of the leading automakers of the Land of the Rising Sun, including Mitsubishi, Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Nissan, Mazda.

The high quality of Toyo products is confirmed by the availability of certificates ISO 9001/9002, 14001, as well as high points repeatedly awarded by leading world experts for excellent grip performance, for the safe behavior of tires on dry and wet surfaces.

One of the best tire brands has a powerful research and development center located in the USA, where experienced and talented specialists work to optimize the rubber compound, tread pattern and tire shape, providing Toyo tires with high maneuverability, durability, and directional stability.

Cordiant

Closing the list of the best tire manufacturers is a brand registered in the Russian Federation and producing tires mainly for the Russian market. This automatically makes tires popular and in demand, and not only because of the affordable cost. The tires are ideally optimized for domestic operating conditions, both with regard to the harsh climate and road conditions.

The presence of silicon in the rubber composition provides improved adhesion to any type of roadway (soil, asphalt, gravel, concrete).

The tread pattern is characterized by the ability to maintain its shape regardless of the degree of wear and is characterized by the presence of a developed drainage system with a large number of grooves that drain water, which significantly reduces the risk of aquaplaning. The assortment of the company includes tires of almost all types and sizes.

Selection recommendations

So what is the best tire brand? Obviously, the products of any brand represented in our rating are worthy of increased attention, taking into account the efforts that they are making to create more and more new models with improved characteristics. And if you choose between safety and cost, then the compromise is not always appropriate here, and only you can decide which tires to put on your car.