Europe's replacement tire market strengthened in the second quarter of 2026, with the recovery that began in Q1 now reaching across both consumer and commercial segments. Tyres Europe's figures for the quarter and first half show demand building even as higher fuel costs held down miles driven, and as the European Commission moved to reshape the import map with definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinese product.
The Recovery Broadens: Consumer and Truck Volumes Both Ahead
Consumer replacement tires (passenger car, SUV and light commercial) rose 3% year-on-year in Q2 2026 to 51.99 million units, lifting first-half volumes 2% to 110.1 million. The standout was commercial. Truck and Bus tires rose 13% in the quarter to 2.70 million units and are 7% higher across the first half, as freight activity and business sentiment held up despite high fuel and energy costs.
Within the consumer segment, the shift toward year-round product continued:
- All Season tires rose 15% in the quarter and 9% across the first half, leading the market once again
- Summer tires slipped 2%, still ceding share to All Season
- Winter tires edged down 1% in the quarter and remain 5% lower over the first half
Agricultural tires fell 7%, though that is a markedly slower decline than the 12% recorded in Q1. Moto and Scooter tires rose 1% in the quarter and 4% across the first half.
Miles Driven Fell as Public Transport Pulled Ahead
The demand backdrop remains uneven. Miles travelled declined over the quarter, reflecting higher average fuel prices and weaker consumer sentiment tied to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It is the same headwind that shaped Q1, still working its way through replacement intervals.
The longer-term shift in how Europe moves is becoming clearer in the data. Aggregate passenger mobility passed its 2019 level for the first time in 2025, but the growth is not in the car. Public transport passenger kilometres rose an estimated 3%, more than double the growth in light-vehicle traffic. Rail now stands 11% above 2019 volumes, lifting its modal share to 9% as the car's share slipped. Discounted fares continue to support the trend, with Germany's Deutschlandticket now extended to 2030.
Import Flows Redrawn: China Back to 2019, ASEAN Nears 20%
Passenger and light commercial tire imports into the EU27+UK fell 6% year-on-year over January to May 2026, and the composition changed far more than the headline. Chinese-origin volumes dropped 24%, taking China's share to 58%, down from 72% a year earlier and effectively back to where it stood in 2019.
ASEAN suppliers filled the gap, almost tripling their share from 7.4% to 19.9%. Thailand led the shift, with volumes rising to almost 6 million units from 2 million, while Vietnam more than doubled to over 3 million and Cambodia emerged as a genuine source at 2.3 million units from a near-zero base. In many cases these are tires from ASEAN plants under Chinese ownership. Korea and Japan held a stable combined share of 14.6%. The UK, which sits outside the EU tariff regime, still sources around 75% of its imports from China, pulling up the combined regional figure.
Truck Tire Imports Concentrate in ASEAN
The same realignment is playing out in commercial tires. Truck and Bus imports into the EU27+UK from non-European markets rose almost 27% over the first five months of 2026. Thailand and Vietnam together now account for almost 61% of the total, up from 57% a year earlier and under 30% as recently as 2019. China's share fell to 16% from 19%, even as its volumes rose 9%. India grew three-fold to become the fourth-largest source at a 6% share, overtaking both Egypt and Korea, whose volumes and shares both eroded.
Brussels Draws a Line: Definitive Duties From July
On 7 July 2026, the European Commission concluded its anti-dumping investigation into Chinese passenger and light commercial tire imports, finding that they had entered the EU at dumped prices and caused material injury to the European tire industry. It imposed definitive duties ranging from 4.3% to 45.3%, effective from 8 July 2026 for an initial five-year period, with no retroactive application. Much of the Chinese share had already unwound in anticipation, with EU27 volumes falling 57% in Q1 as stockpiled inventory cleared. The duties now set the terms under which the next phase of import competition will play out.
Read the full Q2 2026 Tyres Europe (ETRMA) Quarterly Update, prepared by Astutus Research below.
