China supplied 21.7% of the passenger car tires the European Union imported from outside the bloc in July 2026, down from 58.1% in July 2025, according to Eurostat Comext data. The EU received 2.49 million Chinese car tires that month, 69.6% fewer than a year earlier, as the definitive anti-dumping duties of 4.3% to 45.3% adopted under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1540 took effect on 8 July 2026.
Total extra-EU car tire imports fell much less: 11.45 million units in July 2026 against 14.10 million in July 2025, a drop of 18.8%. The gap was filled by Thailand, Vietnam and Serbia, whose combined shipments to the EU rose by 8.79 million units in February to July 2026 against the same months of 2025. For buyers, the duties have changed where Europe's imported tires come from faster than they have changed how many arrive.
China took every extra tire Europe imported between 2021 and 2025
Before the trade case, the trend ran one way. EU imports of new passenger car tires from China (CN code 4011 10 00) rose from 53.7 million units in 2021 to 94.5 million in 2025, an increase of 40.8 million units. Over the same period, total extra-EU imports grew by 40.5 million units, from 115.3 million to 155.8 million. Imports from every other non-EU origin combined were flat: 61.7 million units in 2021 and 61.3 million in 2025. In other words, China accounted for slightly more than all of the growth in Europe's imported car tire supply.
China's share of extra-EU car tire imports climbed from 44.7% in 2019 to 59.2% in 2023 and 60.6% in 2025. The value of those imports more than doubled, from €1.36 billion in 2019 to €2.81 billion in 2025, partly because the average customs value per Chinese tire rose from €24.71 to €29.71 over the same years.
| Year | Imports from China (million units) | Total extra-EU imports (million units) | China share | China import value (€ billion) | Average value per Chinese tire (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 54.9 | 122.6 | 44.7% | 1.36 | 24.71 |
| 2020 | 52.9 | 108.1 | 49.0% | 1.25 | 23.62 |
| 2021 | 53.7 | 115.3 | 46.5% | 1.44 | 26.78 |
| 2022 | 62.1 | 124.5 | 49.9% | 2.09 | 33.70 |
| 2023 | 74.3 | 125.4 | 59.2% | 2.14 | 28.77 |
| 2024 | 87.1 | 144.9 | 60.1% | 2.61 | 30.00 |
| 2025 | 94.5 | 155.8 | 60.6% | 2.81 | 29.71 |
The European Commission's own figures for the investigation period, calendar year 2024, put the scale in market terms. EU consumption of passenger car and light truck tires in scope was about 330 million units, worth more than €18 billion, and imports from China were almost 93 million units, worth more than €2.5 billion, a 28% share of the EU market. Eurostat's two in-scope codes are consistent with that: 87.1 million car tires plus 6.1 million light truck tires (CN 4011 20 10) from China in 2024, or 93.2 million units.
The import decline started eight months before the duties
The monthly series shows that Chinese volumes did not wait for the final regulation. The Commission opened the anti-dumping investigation on 21 May 2025 and made imports subject to registration under Regulation (EU) 2025/1538 from 29 July 2025. China's share still peaked at 66.2% in September 2025, when 10.88 million Chinese car tires entered the EU.
The turn came in the fourth quarter. A parallel anti-subsidy investigation opened on 6 November 2025, and China's share slid to 50.0% in December 2025. On 18 December 2025 the Commission decided not to impose provisional anti-dumping duties, yet January 2026 imports from China were only 2.79 million units, 59.7% below January 2025. Regulation (EU) 2026/130 then made imports subject to registration under the anti-subsidy case from 23 January 2026, which allows countervailing duties to be collected retroactively if the case ends in measures.
Volumes rebounded in spring. China shipped 8.00 million car tires to the EU in April 2026 and 7.12 million in May, taking its share back to 53.1% and 51.0%. The average customs value of those April and May shipments was €28.42 per tire, below the 2025 average of €29.71. After the duties took effect, the July 2026 average rose to €32.92, against €30.36 in July 2025, which suggests the remaining Chinese flow shifted toward higher-value tires or toward exporters with lower duty rates.
Thailand, Vietnam and Serbia absorbed most of the lost volume
Comparing February to July of each year (the months for which all origin series are complete), EU imports of Chinese car tires fell from 47.5 million to 29.4 million units, a loss of 18.2 million units or 38.2%. Total extra-EU imports fell by only 5.3 million units, or 6.8%, to 73.4 million.
| Origin | Feb-Jul 2025 (million units) | Feb-Jul 2026 (million units) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 47.51 | 29.36 | -38.2% |
| South Korea | 9.25 | 9.08 | -1.8% |
| Serbia | 5.42 | 7.20 | +32.9% |
| Thailand | 1.55 | 6.39 | +312.9% |
| Türkiye | 4.62 | 4.10 | -11.2% |
| Vietnam | 1.06 | 3.23 | +204.3% |
| All extra-EU origins | 78.70 | 73.36 | -6.8% |
Thailand moved from a marginal supplier to a major one in a matter of months. Its July 2026 shipment of 1.40 million car tires was 7.3 times the 192,035 units of July 2025. Vietnam's growth began earlier: its full-year 2025 total of 2.0 million units was 3.5 times its 2024 level. Serbia, home to Linglong's Zrenjanin tire plant, where Serbia's government says first-phase investment exceeded $1 billion, added 1.78 million units. South Korea and Türkiye, the established non-Chinese suppliers, did not gain.
Trade statistics record the country of origin, not the owner of the factory, so these figures cannot show how much of the new Thai and Vietnamese supply comes from Chinese-owned plants. That question matters, because Article 13 of the EU's basic anti-dumping regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, allows the Commission to extend duties to imports from third countries when it finds circumvention through a change in the pattern of trade without sufficient economic justification. A pattern in which one origin loses 18.2 million units and three others gain 8.8 million in the same window is the kind of shift that type of review examines.
The duty gap between exporters is wider than the average suggests
The regulation sets company rates from 4.3%, the rate reported for Hankook's Chinese production, to 45.3% for Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group. Applied to the 2025 average customs value of €29.71 per Chinese car tire, the low rate adds about €1.28 per tire and the high rate about €13.46. That spread is large relative to the price differences that decide replacement purchases in budget segments, so the duties are likely to reshuffle volume among Chinese exporters as well as between China and other origins.
Light truck tires followed the same direction with a smaller decline. Chinese shipments under CN 4011 20 10 fell 23.8% in February to July 2026, to 2.57 million units, after reaching 6.73 million units in full-year 2025.
The anti-subsidy ruling due in December 2026 is the next price risk
The Commission has said the parallel anti-subsidy investigation covering the same products will conclude in December 2026. Because imports have been registered since 23 January 2026, any countervailing duties could in principle be applied to shipments entered since then, which gives importers a reason to keep Chinese volumes low until the outcome is known. The industry is also pressing for faster action. On 12 October 2026, Tyres Europe joined 43 other European organizations in a statement calling for more resources for trade defense, noting that about 40% of the 398 million tires newly fitted in the EU in 2024 were made outside the Union and that imports in recent tire cases moved faster than EU responses.
What the shift means for tire makers, distributors and investors
EU tire makers. The volume relief is real but partial. Extra-EU car tire imports were 9.7% lower in January to July 2026 than a year earlier (81.2 million against 90.0 million units), a reduction of 8.7 million units, while Chinese volumes fell by 22.3 million. Producers should plan on the difference being taken by Southeast Asian and Serbian plants rather than by European factories, and should track Thai and Vietnamese unit values for signs of price pressure moving origin.
Distributors and retailers. Buyers with private-label or budget programs sourced from China face landed-cost increases that depend on the specific exporter, from about €1 to more than €13 per tire at 2025 average values. Contracts should name the producing plant, not only the brand, and allocate the risk of retroactive countervailing duties until December 2026. Radial Insights' coverage of the Europe passenger car tires market and the Europe all-season tires market tracks the replacement segments most exposed.
Raw-material buyers. Re-routed supply shifts where tires are built, and with it where natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black and steel cord are consumed. A rise of 4.84 million units in EU imports from Thailand over six months implies more compounding inside Thailand, the largest natural rubber producer, and less in China.
Vehicle manufacturers. Original-equipment programs sourced from Chinese plants for EU assembly now carry a duty that varies by supplier. Purchasing teams should check whether nominated tire sources fall under the higher company rates, particularly in Germany, the largest EU vehicle producer; see the Germany tire market analysis.
Investors. Producers with plants in Thailand, Vietnam, Serbia or inside the EU gain relative to export-only Chinese capacity, but the advantage is conditional. An anti-circumvention review or a broad countervailing duty in December 2026 would change the arithmetic again.
Methodology and sources
Import volumes are Eurostat Comext supplementary quantities (number of tires) for EU-27 imports from extra-EU partners, CN 4011 10 00 (new pneumatic tires of rubber for motor cars) and CN 4011 20 10 (buses or lorries with a load index not exceeding 121). Values are in euros at the EU border. Monthly 2026 data were retrieved on 13 October 2026 and are provisional; January 2025 figures were not available for every partner, so origin comparisons use February to July. Shares, growth rates and unit values were calculated by Radial Insights from the source series.
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, annual EU imports of CN 40111000 from China: annual volumes 2019-2025; the same dataset supplied values, extra-EU totals and partner series.
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, monthly EU imports of CN 40111000 from China: monthly volumes January 2025 to July 2026.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1540 of 6 July 2026: definitive anti-dumping duty, entry into force 8 July 2026, investigation period 2024.
- European Commission, DG Trade news, 9 July 2026: duty range, 2024 consumption, Chinese import volume and share, anti-subsidy timeline.
- Notice of initiation C/2025/2778, 21 May 2025: start of the anti-dumping proceeding and product scope.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1538: registration of imports from 29 July 2025.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/130: registration under the anti-subsidy case from 23 January 2026.
- Regulation (EU) 2016/1036: Article 13 on circumvention.
- Tyres Europe, 12 October 2026: joint trade-defense statement and the 398 million newly fitted tires figure.
- Rubber World, 10 July 2026: company rates for Hankook and Shandong Yongsheng.
- European Rubber Journal, 14 January 2026: 18 December 2025 decision not to impose provisional duties.
- European Rubber Journal, January 2026: anti-subsidy initiation on 6 November 2025.
- European Rubber Journal, 23 June 2026: Linglong Zrenjanin plant investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
69.6% year on year in July 2026, to 2.49 million units, the first month the definitive duties applied. China's share of extra-EU car tire imports fell to 21.7% from 58.1% a year earlier.
4.3% to 45.3%, depending on the exporter, under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1540, in force since 8 July 2026. Hankook's Chinese production has the lowest rate and Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group the highest.
Thailand, up 312.9% to 6.39 million units in February to July 2026, followed by Vietnam at +204.3% and Serbia at +32.9%. South Korea and Türkiye did not gain.
94.5 million car tires came from China in 2025, 60.6% of extra-EU imports, up from 53.7 million in 2021. Imports from all other non-EU origins were flat at about 61 million units.
About €1.28 to €13.46 per tire, applying the 4.3% and 45.3% rates to the 2025 average customs value of €29.71 per Chinese car tire.
December 2026 is when the Commission expects to conclude the parallel anti-subsidy investigation. Imports have been registered since 23 January 2026, so any countervailing duties could apply retroactively.