Tyres Europe has reported a 5% drop in consumer tyre replacement sales during the fourth quarter of 2025, with full-year volumes down 2% compared to 2024, reflecting sustained pressure across the European replacement market.
Summer car tyre replacement volumes recorded the steepest falls, declining 6% in Q4 2025 and 7% across the full year. The figures underline an ongoing structural shift in consumer preferences, with drivers increasingly favouring all-season and winter tyres over traditional summer fitments.
Winter tyre replacement sales plummeted 14% in the final quarter of 2025, likely reflecting unseasonably mild weather or reduced seasonal demand. However, the full-year decline was more modest at 4%, suggesting winter tyres performed relatively better over the course of 2025 than their summer counterparts, despite the sharp year-end downturn.
The 5% quarterly drop stems from several interconnected factors affecting the European replacement market.
Economic and Driving Behaviour Pressures
Stretched household budgets, elevated living costs, and subdued vehicle mileage have prompted many consumers to postpone tyre replacements or extend the service life of existing fitments. Lower annual mileage reduces wear rates, meaning fewer tyres reach replacement age within a given period.
Changing Tyre Mix
The continuing migration away from summer tyres towards all-season and winter products has temporarily depressed overall consumer volumes, particularly when the 14% winter-tyre collapse in Q4 2025 is factored in. This mix shift has not been fully offset by growth in other segments.
Import Competition and Pricing Dynamics
Rising volumes of lower-cost imported tyres have intensified price competition, encouraging consumers to trade down or delay purchases whilst retailers recalibrate stock levels. This environment has made it difficult for premium-branded replacement tyres to sustain growth, even where vehicle populations remain stable.
The weakness in the tyre market reflects deeper economic challenges across Europe throughout 2025.
Cost-of-Living Squeeze
Persistent inflation, high interest rates, and economic uncertainty have constrained disposable incomes, leading many motorists to defer tyre replacements or opt for cheaper alternatives. With maintenance budgets under pressure, tyre purchases have been treated as discretionary spending that can be postponed where existing tyres remain road-legal.
Reduced Mileage and Softer Freight Activity
Light-vehicle mileage across many European markets has remained below pre-pandemic levels, particularly for private cars, reducing wear rates and replacement frequency. In the truck and bus segment, weaker freight volumes and subdued logistics activity have kept commercial-vehicle tyre demand below prior-year levels, mirroring broader softness in industrial and trade activity.
Import Surge Pressures Pricing
Passenger-car and light-truck tyre imports into Europe rose sharply in 2025, especially from China, Vietnam, and other low-cost manufacturing hubs, intensifying competition and applying downward pressure on prices. Faced with higher energy and production costs, European manufacturers have struggled to match import pricing without sacrificing margins, further suppressing volumes in the premium and mid-tier segments.
The combination of these factors has created a challenging environment for the European tyre industry, with both demand-side weakness and structural shifts reshaping the market landscape.
Tagged with: European tyre market, replacement tyre sales, summer tyres, winter tyres, all-season tyres, import competition, pricing pressure, consumer mileage, cost-of-living, trade defence
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