Who owns which tire brands?
The tire industry is a confusing business. Historically there were the big 3 brands that people nearly always purchased but recently there have been a number of mergers and new budget brands sprouting.
We thought it would be useful to post a consolidated list of who owns who in the tire industry (for our reference as much as yours!) so here is our handy list of the market.
Michelin - France
Worlds number one tire manufacturer. Own the brands Michelin, BF Goodrich, Kleber, Uniroyal* and Riken.
Bridgestone - Japan
One of the original big three. Own the brands Bridgestone, Firestone, Daytona and Europa.
Goodyear Dunlop - USA
Goodyear recently merged with Dunlop to form one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world. Own the brands Dunlop, Goodyear, Fulda, Falken and Kelly.
Yokohama - Japanese
A brand in themselves, Yokohama claim to be the 7th biggest manufacturer in the world.
Pirelli - Italy
Pirelli claim to be the 5th largest tire manufacturer in the world. Most of it's retail is through the Pirelli brand but have more recently released the Ceat and Courier brands.
Cooper Tire - USA
Cooper recently bought the Avon brand. They now own Cooper, Avon and Mastercraft.
Continental - Germany
Owns Continental, Uniroyal*, General Tire, Gislaved and Semperit.
Toyo - Japan
Toyo are one of the newer budget performance tires to market. Formed many partnerships around the globe.
Kumho - Korea
Kumho is also a budget road tire with a strong sporting range.
Apollo - India
Apollo now own Vredestein.
* To add to confusion Uniroyal is Continental owned in Europe and Michelin owned in USA
This article will be continuously updated as we find more information
"This article will be continuously updated as we find more information"
Its not really. Its out of date to the point of being useless.
I've been given Bufftive BT02 70 tires. Old..manufactured 2414.
I can't find who makes them.
Mine are 185/70r14, winter tires.
The spelling above is correct, no typos.
Anyone know these?
Never heard of them sorry. Generally if there's no info online it will be a random name from a chinese factory that they ran for a bit.
Thank you! Yep, I guess so. It'll snow again next week here (in Japan) ... For fun, I might put them on and given them a slow drive, to see how these mystery tires run. I'll rush back home to take them off later though, for peace of mind. They are old and mysterious. Thanks again.
Yikes, be careful and report back!
Reporting back:
I put two on the rear axle and went for a spin in the rain. Up hills, bumps, etc. They seem great, to be honest.
I noticed they have "made in Japan" on them. My friend says he bought them new in a national motor chain here, Autobacs, almost 10 yrs ago. Thet are marked as being 2014.
Google searches in English and Japanese give no useful info.
I think I'll leave the two on until I change to summers in April ?.
Thanks always for what you do!
I'm impressed. Even if they were a premium brand, most tires start to age out after 5 years so they're holding on well. Just keep an eye on them.
IF they're made in Japan there's not a whole lot of brands with manufacturing there.
Ok we were Michelin Hankook tire dealers in 2012 they owned them then or did not tell us they sold
Hankook 35% owned by Michelin. Kumho sold to the Chinese Hankook now original equipment on some new car manufacturers
Michelin sold its stake in Hankook in 2011
Any ideas which company make Imperial Ecosport 2?
https://www.oponeo.co.uk/ty...
Has anyone ever heard of Kingrun tires? I've that they're a Pirelli product out of China.
It's not a brand we've heard of, and Pirelli aren't importing them into the UK
Anyone know who makes Excelon Tires?
Excelon aren't a brand we've heard of, but looking at the Excelon pattern names it looks like they come out of one of the budget Chinese factories.
Excelon are from a Korean manufacturer - The same that produces Arrowspeed tires, which is owned by the Goodyear-Dunlop group.
haha nope. Excelon is a private brand and are produced by Linglong in China specifically for subsidiaries of the brand owner, Itochu
A) necroed a 2 year old comment.
B) I know it's hard to find, but Google 'Excelon Tires Owner' and scroll all the way down to... The first result.
C) I used to manage Goodyear-Dunlop accounts when I worked in the tire industry, of which one of the brands they provided coverage for was Excelon along with Arrowspeed. Either they've changed hands since I left the industry 18 months ago and Wikipedia hasn't been updated, G-D were lying to me and selling rip-off Excelon tires for 6 years or your source is wrong.
I am interested if there are other tire brands that doesn't only use their brand name, but at the same time their company name - as Apollo does with Apollo Vredestein.
Ever heard of sunwide tires.
Pirelli is now owned by the Chinese!!! They were purchased by a company called ChemChina for over $7 Billion.
I hear Achilles economy brand is owned by Yokohama, in South Africa(Accelera?). Any truth to this?
We didn't know, so asked Yokohama. Here's the definitive reply :)
"Yokohama are retailed in South Africa through a chain of tire shops called ‘Tiger Wheel and Tire’.
Looking at their website they now distribute Achilles along with several other brands (including Yokohama).
There is no connection between ‘Achilles’ and The Yokohama Rubber Company.”
Achillies now owned by Michelin as of 2019
Hi Guys, who wons Uniroyal? Michelin or Conti?
In Europe it is a Continental brand
Uniroyal owned by Michelin in US Owned by Continental in Europe
Barum also owned by Continental...
Vredestein is owned by indian company Apollo Tires Ltd. since year 2009 and is now called Apollo Vredestein BV. Mass production is definitely going to Asia...
Thanks for the reminder, we'll update this article.
Hello, i am working on a Project to find all 400 Tires manufactorys worldwide. Somebody now if there is one list on the web?
We're getting near a few hundred, and have probably chosen not to publish another 100.
http://www.tirereviews.co.u...
Use the "contact us" link on the right if you want to discuss further.
Falken is not owned by Goodyear. It is owned by Sumitomo, the 6th largest tire company.
Dunlop is Goodyear-owned in the US and Europe, and Sumitomo-owned in Asia. Dunlop tires offered in the US come from both companies. Their Japanese-made performance tires are made in Sumitomo factories along with Falken tires.
Agreed.
Also, NEXEN own Roadstone.
Kumho and Marshal tires are the same.
I believe that Continental also now own Matador Tires.
agree with you
Toyo owns Nitto
hello, i'm looking for some informations regarding the brand courier.
Do you have any idea where I can find some documentation regarding tires as champi, etc...? no website, nothing on pirelli website....
Thanks for your support.
hi , i use to fit courier tires all the time. made by pirelli, they are suppose to be mid budget. they got more expensive as they became popular. the problem now is most garages dont stock them as they are tied it with a particular brand, and they arent easy to source from them(personal experience!!!!). i still think they are a good value tire, but as i said, its getting the garage to source them thats the annoying part. ive literally spent hours on the internet trying to source them.
Kindly Update the site , so may able to now all new tires manufacturing comapines
hi there, any chance on an update on this one? Very useful info...
Hi Bob,
We'll work on an update :)
Continetal aqired Simex 2011