High Value products made up 82% of Pirelli's sales in the first nine months of 2026, up from 79% a year earlier and 66.5% in 2019. The figure came in the nine-month results Pirelli released on 5 November 2026, which its board approved by majority: three directors, Zhang Haitao, Xi Xiaohong and Wang Kun, voted against because of the declaration of control by MTP Spa contained in the financial report.
The governance dispute drew the headlines, but the operating numbers carry the more useful signal for the tire market. Revenue rose 1.6% to 5,278.0 million euro while total volumes slipped 0.5%, so growth came entirely from price and mix. Across seven annual bridges from 2019 to 2025, Pirelli's price/mix contributions compound to +59.1% while volume contributions compound to -4.5%. A day earlier, on 4 November 2026, Continental reported the same pattern from another angle: ultra-high-performance tires of 18 inches and above accounted for 62% of its brand's passenger car tire sales in 2025, up from 49% in 2020.
High Value rose 15.5 points in under seven years while Standard volumes shrank
Pirelli's High Value share climbed in steps: 63.7% in 2018, 66.5% in 2019, 70.4% in 2020, then a plateau near 71% in 2021 and 2022, before three further gains to 75% in 2023, 76% in 2024 and 79% in 2025. The nine-month 2026 reading of 82% is 15.5 percentage points above 2019.
The share gain is not only a story of High Value growing. It is also a story of Standard being cut. In the first nine months of 2026, Standard volumes fell 9%, and in the third quarter alone they fell 11%, which Pirelli attributes to a strategy of growing selectivity, above all in South America. Applying the reported shares to reported revenue gives roughly 4,328 million euro of High Value sales in the nine months against about 4,104 million euro a year earlier, a gain of about 5.5%, while Standard revenue fell from about 1,091 million euro to about 950 million euro, a drop of about 12.9%. These are Radial estimates from rounded shares, but the direction is unambiguous.
The underlying volume split shows the same thing. High Value car and motorcycle volumes grew around 3% in the nine months. Replacement volumes rose 4%, accelerating to 6% in the third quarter from 3% in the first half. Original equipment volumes rose 1% over nine months but fell 7% in the third quarter, which Pirelli tied to a strong prior-year comparison and weak car production in Europe, North America and China.
Price/mix compounded to +59.1% from 2019 to 2025 while volumes compounded to -4.5%
Pirelli publishes an organic revenue bridge every year that splits growth into volumes and price/mix. Read in sequence, the bridges show a company that has grown revenue by selling fewer, more expensive tires. Price/mix was positive in every year from 2019 to 2025, ranging from +1.2% in the pandemic year to +19.7% in 2022, when price increases passed through raw-material and energy inflation. Volume contributions were negative in four of those seven years.
| Year | Revenue (million euro) | High Value share | Price/mix | Volumes | Adjusted EBIT margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 5,323.1 | 66.5% | +4.2% | -2.0% | 17.2% |
| 2020 | 4,302.1 | 70.4% | +1.2% | -15.3% | 11.6% |
| 2021 | 5,331.5 | 70.9% | +9.1% | +15.7% | 15.3% |
| 2022 | 6,615.7 | 71% | +19.7% | -1.0% | 14.8% |
| 2023 | 6,650.1 | 75% | +8.6% | -1.8% | 15.1% |
| 2024 | 6,773.3 | 76% | +2.5% | +1.9% | 15.7% |
| 2025 | 6,776.2 | 79% | +3.8% | +0.4% | 16% |
| 9M 2026 | 5,278.0 | 82% | +3.2% | -0.5% | 15.9% |
Compounding the seven annual bridges gives +59.1% from price/mix and -4.5% from volumes, or roughly +52% organic growth before currency effects. Reported revenue rose only 27.3%, from 5,323.1 million euro in 2019 to 6,776.2 million euro in 2025, because currency moves and hyperinflation accounting in Argentina and Turkey absorbed much of the gain. Price/mix in high-inflation markets also includes local price increases that offset currency losses, so the +59.1% overstates pure mix improvement. Even so, the direction is clear: on these bridges, Pirelli sold slightly fewer tires in 2025 than in 2018 and earned far more per tire.
Mix gains bought back margin, but adjusted EBIT margin is still below 2019
The less obvious finding is that a 12.5-point gain in High Value share between 2019 and 2025 did not lift profitability above its pre-pandemic level. Adjusted EBIT margin was 17.2% in 2019, fell to 11.6% in 2020, and has since recovered in small steps to 16% in 2025 and 15.9% in the first nine months of 2026. Adjusted EBIT rose 17.9%, from 917.3 million euro to 1,081.4 million euro, less than revenue.
The gap is the cost side. In 2022, price/mix added 19.7% to revenue, yet adjusted EBIT margin slipped to 14.8% from 15.3% in 2021, which shows how much of the pricing went to covering higher input costs. Since then, mix improvement has largely been spent defending margin rather than expanding it. The 2026 release makes the point directly: Pirelli cites the Middle East crisis and its effect on the cost of raw materials, energy and transport, mitigated by price actions and cost containment. Gross efficiency benefits reached 109.4 million euro in the nine months, 73% of the annual target. Continental's chief financial officer said on 4 November that higher raw-material prices are increasingly affecting earnings and will weigh more in the fourth quarter. For a premium-heavy maker, mix is the main defense against input inflation, not a source of excess return.
The small-rim exit is deliberate: Pirelli lost 11% where the market lost 1%
Pirelli's car tire volumes of 17 inches and below have trailed the market in every year where both figures are disclosed, except 2021. In 2025 Pirelli's small-rim volumes changed by -11% while the market changed by -1%. In 2024 they fell 4% in a stable market. In 2022 they fell 9.2% against a market decline of 3.4%. The company describes this as reducing exposure to less profitable products and channels, especially in South America.
At the other end, Pirelli's car volumes of 18 inches and above grew 7% in 2025 against a market up 6%, with original equipment up 7% against a market up 5%. Its pipeline points further up the size range: about 350 new homologations with premium and prestige carmakers in the first nine months of 2026, 90% of them for rim sizes of 19 inches and above. Overall car volumes were stable in 2025 while the global market grew 1%, so Pirelli is accepting a smaller share of total tire units in exchange for a larger share of the large-rim segment.
Large-rim replacement demand is strongest in Europe, not North America
Pirelli's monthly Tyre Market Watch, revised on 3 November 2026, shows where the mix tailwind is coming from. In September 2026, Europe's replacement market for car tires of 18 inches and above grew 13% year on year and 14% year to date, while Europe's replacement market for all rim sizes fell 4% in the month and 1% year to date. In North America, large-rim replacement grew 4% in September but was down 1% year to date. Worldwide, original equipment demand fell 7% in September and 4% year to date, and worldwide replacement demand fell 1% on both measures.
Continental's numbers point the same way. Its Tires EMEA region raised its adjusted EBIT margin to 18.7% in the third quarter of 2026 from 17.7%, helped by UHP winter tires, while Tires Americas earned 8.7% on sales that fell 5.0% to 1.1 billion euro, hit by weak replacement markets. The 10-point margin gap exists even though UHP tires were 66% of Continental's 2025 passenger car tire sales in the Americas against 43% in EMEA. A high UHP share alone does not guarantee margin when utilization and replacement demand are weak. Global automotive production fell about 1.6% in the third quarter, with North America down 5% and China down 6%, according to Continental.
What the premium mix shift means for buyers and suppliers
Tire makers. The Pirelli bridge sets a benchmark: in a flat unit market, revenue growth of 3% to 4% a year is achievable from price/mix alone, but margin gains are thin when input costs rise. Producers still weighted toward 16- and 17-inch fitments face shrinking demand and a premium tier that is willing to cede those volumes, which may ease price competition at the low end but leaves the growth pool concentrated in sizes that need OE homologations.
Raw-material buyers. Larger, heavier tires for SUVs and electric vehicles use more compound per unit than the 16- and 17-inch sizes they replace. A unit market that is flat to slightly down can still mean rising tonnage demand for premium grades, so suppliers should track rim-size mix rather than unit forecasts.
Distributors and retailers. Europe's 13% September growth in large-rim replacement against a 4% fall in the total market means inventory value per unit is rising faster than unit throughput. Working capital, storage space and fitting equipment for sizes of 19 inches and above matter more than headline unit sales.
Carmakers. With 90% of Pirelli's 2026 homologations at 19 inches and above, OE buyers specifying larger wheels lock in a narrow set of premium suppliers. Weak OE production, down 7% worldwide in September, gives OEMs some short-term pricing leverage, but the long-term supply base for big-rim fitments is concentrated.
Investors. The useful test is whether mix improvement translates into margin. Pirelli's adjusted EBIT margin of 15.9% sits close to its target of around 16% for 2026 but below the 17.2% of 2019. Continental's 10-point regional margin gap shows that geography and utilization can matter as much as mix. Governance risk at Pirelli, visible in the split board vote, is a separate factor to price.
For market context, see Radial's passenger car tires market analysis, the Europe passenger car tires market report, the Italy tire market report and the electric vehicle tires market report.
Methodology and sources
All Pirelli figures are taken from the company's own results releases. Cumulative price/mix and volume effects are Radial calculations, compounding the annual organic bridge percentages for 2019 to 2025 as reported (each year against the prior year). High Value and Standard revenue for the nine months of 2026 and 2025 are Radial estimates from reported revenue and rounded shares. Market growth figures are Pirelli estimates. Continental figures are as reported in its nine-month release.
- Pirelli, results to 30 September 2026 (5 November 2026): board vote, 9M and Q3 revenue, High Value share, price/mix, volumes by channel, adjusted EBIT, homologations, efficiencies.
- Pirelli, 2019 results and 2020-2022 plan (19 February 2020): 2018 and 2019 High Value share, 2019 bridge and margin.
- Pirelli, preliminary 2020 results (10 March 2021): 2020 revenue, bridge, High Value share, small-rim market data.
- Pirelli, preliminary 2021 results (23 February 2022): 2021 revenue, bridge, High Value share, rim-size volumes.
- Pirelli, preliminary 2022 results (22 February 2023): 2022 revenue, bridge, High Value share, rim-size volumes.
- Pirelli, 2023 results (6 March 2024): 2023 revenue, bridge, High Value share, margin.
- Pirelli, preliminary 2024 results (26 February 2025): 2024 revenue, bridge, High Value share, rim-size volumes.
- Pirelli, preliminary 2025 results (25 February 2026): 2025 revenue, bridge, High Value share, margin, rim-size volumes vs market.
- Pirelli Tyre Market Watch, September 2026 (revised 3 November 2026): regional OE and replacement market changes, including 18 inches and above.
- Continental, results for the first nine months of 2026 (4 November 2026): regional tire sales and margins, UHP share 2020 and 2025, automotive production, raw-material comments.
Frequently Asked Questions
82% in the first nine months of 2026, up from 79% a year earlier and 66.5% in 2019, according to Pirelli's results released on 5 November 2026.
No. Total volumes fell 0.5% in the first nine months of 2026 while price/mix added 3.2%, and from 2019 to 2025 price/mix compounded to +59.1% against -4.5% for volumes.
Its volumes in that segment fell 11% in 2025 while the market fell 1%, and they fell 4% in 2024 in a stable market.
Only partly. Adjusted EBIT margin was 15.9% in the first nine months of 2026 and 16% in 2025, still below the 17.2% reported for 2019.
In Europe, where replacement demand for car tires of 18 inches and above rose 13% year on year in September 2026 while the all-size market fell 4%.
UHP tires of 18 inches and above were 62% of Continental brand passenger car tire sales in 2025, up from 49% in 2020.