Tires with rims of 18 inches and larger made up 47.8% of Hankook's passenger car and light truck tire sales in 2025, up from 32% in 2019, a gain of 15.8 percentage points in six years. The share reached 49.5% in the second quarter of 2026, and the company has set a full-year target of 51%, which would make big-rim tires the majority of its car tire business for the first time.
Hankook is not an outlier. Michelin reported that 68% of its MICHELIN-brand passenger car tire sales were 18 inches or larger in 2025, and Bridgestone's 18-inch-plus share of original-equipment car tires in North America and Europe rose from 67% to 73% between the first halves of 2024 and 2025. Over the same period, unit demand has gone almost nowhere: Michelin's own market data show global car and light truck replacement sell-in up just 1% in the first nine months of 2026, with original equipment down 1%. For anyone who buys, sells or finances tires, the growth is in rim size, not in tire count.
Hankook added 15.8 points of big-rim share in six years, at roughly 2.6 points a year
Hankook has published its 18-inch-and-larger share for every year since 2019, which makes it a clean long series on the shift. The company's investor presentations put the share at 32% in 2019 and 35% in 2020. It reached 37.7% in 2021, up 3.1 points, and 40.8% in 2022 (the 2022 release states the figure for passenger car tires). The 4Q 2024 investor deck shows 44% for 2023 and 46.5% for 2024, up 2.3 points, and the 4Q 2025 deck shows 47.8% for 2025.
The average gain over 2019-2025 works out to about 2.6 points a year. The pace held at about 3 points a year through 2023, then slowed to 2.3 points in 2024 and 1.3 points in 2025. Quarterly figures show the trend did not stall, though. The fourth quarter of 2024 reached 47.9%, the fourth quarter of 2025 reached 49.2%, and the second quarter of 2026 reached 49.5%. Hankook's target for 2025 had been "exceeding 50%", which it missed by a little over two points on a full-year basis, so the 51% target for 2026 needs a stronger second half than the first.
| Period | 18-inch-plus share of Hankook PC/LT sales | Change | Source document |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 32% | - | 4Q 2021 IR |
| 2020 | 35% | +3 pts | 4Q 2021 IR |
| 2021 | 37.7% | +3.1 pts (reported) | 4Q 2021 IR |
| 2022 | 40.8% (passenger car) | +3.1 pts (reported) | 2022 results release |
| 2023 | 44% | about +3.2 pts | 4Q 2024 IR |
| 2024 | 46.5% | +2.3 pts (reported) | 4Q 2024 IR |
| 2025 | 47.8% | +1.3 pts | 4Q 2025 IR |
| Q2 2026 | 49.5% | quarterly | Q2 2026 release |
| 2026 target | 51% | target | Q2 2026 release |
The business result of that mix is visible in Hankook's tire division. Tire revenue was KRW 8.94 trillion in 2023, KRW 9.41 trillion in 2024 and KRW 10.32 trillion in 2025, the first year above KRW 10 trillion and a cumulative increase of 15.4% over two years. In the second quarter of 2026, tire sales rose 11.8% year on year to KRW 2.81 trillion, with an operating margin of 17.2%.
Michelin sells more than two big-rim tires in three, and Korean rivals are closing the gap from below
The other published figures show where Hankook sits on the curve. Michelin reported that 18-inch-and-larger tires made up 65% of MICHELIN-brand passenger car tire sales in 2024. In the first half of 2025 that contribution rose 4 points to 68%, and the full-year 2025 release confirmed 68%. That puts Michelin's flagship brand about 20 points ahead of Hankook's company-wide figure, although the bases differ: Michelin reports only its premium brand, while Hankook includes light truck tires and all of its brands.
Kumho Tire reported an 18-inch-and-larger share of 43.2% for 2025 and has set a 2026 target of 47%, a jump of 3.8 points. If both Korean makers hit their targets, Hankook would be at 51% and Kumho at 47% by the end of 2026, still well short of Michelin's premium brand but closer to it than Hankook was to Michelin in 2019.
Bridgestone's disclosures add a channel split for North America and Europe. In those regions, 18-inch-plus tires were 67% of its passenger car original-equipment sales in the first half of 2024 and 73% in the first half of 2025, a 6-point rise in one year. On the replacement side the same ratio was 46% in the first half of 2025. Bridgestone's European sales of 18-inch-plus tires ran at an index of 114 against the prior-year period, and its 20-inch-plus tires ran at 123. Globally, its passenger replacement sales of 18-inch-plus tires were at 106.
The gap between 73% in original equipment and 46% in replacement matters. New vehicles are leaving factories on larger wheels than the cars currently being re-tired, so the replacement mix has a built-in lag and should keep moving upward as the current car parc ages into its first and second tire changes.
Mix, not volume, is carrying tire revenue in 2026
Michelin's market data for the first nine months of 2026 show how little help tire makers are getting from unit demand. In car and light truck tires, original-equipment sell-in was flat in Europe, down 1% in North and Central America, down 7% in China and down 1% globally. Replacement sell-in fell 1% in Europe and 3% in North and Central America, rose 6% in China and rose 1% globally.
Against that backdrop, Michelin's revenue bridge for the period is instructive. Group revenue was EUR 19,175 million against EUR 19,275 million a year earlier. Tire volumes cut EUR 159 million, or 0.8%. Mix added EUR 303 million, or 1.6%, while price took away EUR 97 million. Michelin attributed the mix gain to high-value tires, "notably '18 inches and above' dimensions". In other words, mix more than offset both lower volumes and lower prices. The same pattern held in 2024, when Michelin's tire volumes fell 5.1% and a 1.9% positive mix effect offset part of that decline, and in 2025, when volumes fell 4.7%.
This is the core of the finding. In a market where tire counts are moving by a percent or two, a supplier that shifts 2 to 3 points of its sales into larger sizes each year gains revenue per tire without needing to win share. Suppliers whose ranges stop at 17 inches are competing for a shrinking slice of a flat market.
EV fitments and big rims are rising together in original equipment
Hankook also reports the share of electric-vehicle tires in its passenger car and light truck original-equipment sales. That share was 15% in 2023, 22% in 2024 and 27% in 2025, a 12-point rise in two years. It reached 32% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 31.8% in the second quarter of 2026, close to the 2026 target of 33%. Hankook missed its 2024 EV target of 25%, so its targets have not always been met.
Kumho shows a similar direction: EV tires were 20.4% of its global original-equipment sales in 2025, and its 2026 target is 30%. Hankook's Q2 2026 release also noted that replacement sales in China "increased notably" as EVs entered their replacement cycles. The published data do not split the big-rim share by powertrain, so the two series cannot be tied together tire by tire. What they do show is that the original-equipment programs suppliers are winning are moving toward both larger sizes and EV-specific specifications at the same time, and that the first wave of those fitments is starting to reach the replacement market in China.
What the big-rim shift means for tire makers, distributors, OEMs, raw-material buyers and investors
Tire makers. The published series suggest that a premium supplier should expect its 18-inch-plus share to keep rising by 1 to 3 points a year. Capacity planning built on unit growth will underestimate the need for large-size curing presses, molds and building drums. Suppliers sitting in the low 40s, as Kumho was in 2025, face a choice between investing to follow Hankook toward 50% or competing on price in smaller sizes, where the market data show little unit growth.
Distributors and retailers. Bridgestone's 46% replacement ratio against 73% in original equipment means the replacement mix will keep drifting toward larger sizes as recent model years come due for new tires. That raises the value of inventory per unit and the number of size and load-index variants a warehouse must carry. Stocking models that weight purchases by last year's unit mix will run short of 19 and 20-inch fitments. Regional reports on the North America passenger car tires market and the Europe passenger car tires market track these regional demand patterns.
Vehicle makers. For OEM purchasing teams, the data point to a supplier base that is being judged on its ability to deliver large, EV-specific sizes at scale. With Hankook's EV share of original-equipment sales near a third and Bridgestone at 73% big-rim share in its North American and European OE business, the qualified supplier pool for these programs is likely narrower than for conventional fitments, which can strengthen the hand of qualified suppliers in price negotiations.
Raw-material buyers. A larger tire contains more material per unit, so flat unit volumes do not imply flat demand for natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black, silica and steel cord. Buyers who forecast compound demand from tire counts alone will understate it in years when the mix shift continues at 2 to 3 points.
Investors. The useful indicator is the mix line in the revenue bridge, not the volume line. Michelin's 9M 2026 bridge, with mix at +1.6% against volume at -0.8%, is the template. Companies that publish a rim-size share give investors a way to test whether margin gains are structural. The global passenger car tires market outlook gives the volume baseline against which these mix gains can be read.
Methodology and sources
All figures come from company filings and results releases. Rim-size shares are reported on different bases: Hankook reports tires of 18 inches and larger as a share of passenger car and light truck (PC/LT) sales, except for 2022, when its release gives the passenger car figure; Michelin reports the share of MICHELIN-brand passenger car tire sales; Kumho reports a share of sales; Bridgestone reports regional channel ratios. Cross-company comparisons should be read as indicative. Derived values (percentage-point changes, the 2.6-point annual average and the 15.4% tire revenue growth) were calculated by Radial Insights from the reported figures. Percentage-point changes refer to shares; percent changes refer to volumes or values.
- Hankook Tire & Technology, 2021 4Q financial results (February 2022): 18-inch-plus share for 2019, 2020 and 2021.
- Hankook Tire, 2022 financial results release (February 2, 2023): 40.8% passenger car share for 2022.
- Hankook Tire & Technology, 2024 4Q financial results (February 4, 2025): 2023 and 2024 shares, 4Q 2024 share, EV shares for 2023 and 2024.
- Hankook Tire & Technology, 2025 4Q financial results (February 4, 2026): 2025 and 4Q 2025 shares, EV shares, tire division revenue 2023-2025.
- Hankook & Company, Q2 2026 results release (August 11, 2026): Q2 2026 big-rim and EV shares, 2026 targets, tire sales and margin.
- Kumho Tire, 2025 financial results (February 10, 2026): 43.2% big-rim share, EV share and 2026 targets.
- Michelin, 2024 annual results: 65% big-rim share, volumes and mix for 2024.
- Michelin, financial information at June 30, 2025: 4-point rise to 68%.
- Michelin, financial information at December 31, 2025: 68% for 2025, volumes for 2025.
- Michelin, financial information at September 30, 2026 (October 20, 2026): 9M 2026 market table and revenue bridge.
- Bridgestone, summary of financial results for 1H 2025: OE and replacement 18-inch-plus ratios for North America and Europe, regional sales indices.
Frequently Asked Questions
47.8% of Hankook's passenger car and light truck tire sales were 18 inches or larger in 2025, up from 32% in 2019. The share reached 49.5% in Q2 2026 against a 2026 target of 51%.
68% of MICHELIN-brand passenger car tire sales were 18 inches or larger in 2025, up from 65% in 2024. Michelin reports only its premium brand, so the base differs from Hankook's company-wide figure.
73% of Bridgestone's original-equipment car tires in North America and Europe were 18 inches or larger in 1H 2025, against 46% in replacement. The gap points to further upsizing in replacement as newer vehicles need new tires.
1% is the growth in global car and light truck replacement sell-in for the first nine months of 2026, per Michelin, while original equipment fell 1%. North and Central American replacement fell 3% and China rose 6%.
1.6% was Michelin's mix effect on revenue in 9M 2026, worth EUR 303 million, against a 0.8% volume decline. Michelin linked the gain to tires of 18 inches and above.
27% of Hankook's passenger car and light truck OE sales were EV tires in 2025, up from 15% in 2023, and the share was 31.8% in Q2 2026. Kumho reported 20.4% for 2025 and targets 30% for 2026.