Nokian Tyres' Passenger Car Tyres segment earned a 9.4% segment operating margin in 2025, up from a loss of 3.1% in 2022, the first year the Finnish company reported without its Russian plants. In the first half of 2026 the same unit reached 10.8%, against 2.6% a year earlier, and its second quarter alone printed 15.1%.
The recovery came while Nokian spent EUR 729.1 million on capital expenditure between 2023 and 2025 and built a 6 million tire plant in Oradea, Romania, to replace lost capacity. The next test arrives on 27 October 2026, when the company reports the third quarter, the season in which its winter-heavy passenger business normally earns most of its profit. This analysis tracks what changed, what the numbers do and do not prove, and what buyers along the value chain should take from it.
Passenger tires went from a 3.1% loss to a 9.4% margin in three years
When Nokian sold its Russian operations to PJSC Tatneft in March 2023 for EUR 285 million, it gave up its Russian factory and sales operations. The Q1 2023 interim report restated 2022 on a continuing basis: segments net sales of EUR 1,350.5 million and a segments operating margin of just 1.3%. The Russian and Kazakh subsidiaries had another EUR 425.6 million of 2022 net sales, about 24.0% of the combined total, which moved to discontinued operations.
Inside that restated 2022, Passenger Car Tyres booked EUR 810.7 million of net sales and a segment operating loss of EUR 24.7 million, a margin of minus 3.1%. To fill the gap, the company planned about 1.5 million contract-manufactured tires for 2023 and capacity increases at its Finnish and US plants. The climb since then has been steady rather than sudden.
| Period | Passenger Car Tyres net sales (EUR m) | Segment operating profit (EUR m) | Segment operating margin | Group segments operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (continuing) | 810.7 | -24.7 | -3.1% | 1.3% |
| 2023 | 653.4 | 36.7 | 5.6% | 5.5% |
| 2024 | 779.9 | 52.2 | 6.7% | 5.5% |
| 2025 | 858.4 | 80.9 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| H1 2025 | 380.4 | 9.7 | 2.6% | 1.3% |
| H1 2026 | 421.3 | 45.7 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Two points stand out in the table. First, passenger net sales grew 31.4% from 2023 to 2025, faster than the group's 17.0%, so the passenger unit now carries 62.5% of group sales. Second, it produced EUR 80.9 million of the EUR 91.3 million group segments operating profit in 2025, or 88.6%. Whatever happens to Nokian's group margin is mostly a passenger tire story.
The first half of 2026 added EUR 36.0 million of passenger profit on EUR 40.9 million of extra sales
Passenger Car Tyres net sales rose from EUR 380.4 million to EUR 421.3 million in the first half of 2026, while segment operating profit went from EUR 9.7 million to EUR 45.7 million. That is EUR 36.0 million of extra profit on EUR 40.9 million of extra sales. Nokian attributed the change to higher sales, a higher average sales price in comparable currencies, and lower manufacturing and material costs.
The quarter split matters because this business is seasonal. The first quarter of 2026 turned positive at 5.5%, against minus 3.6% a year earlier. The second quarter reached 15.1%, almost double the 7.7% of Q2 2025 and four times the 3.7% of Q2 2024. Historically the third quarter is the strongest, as dealers stock winter tires: 16.4% in Q3 2024 and 16.6% in Q3 2025.
That pattern sets up the 27 October report. Q2 2026 came within 1.5 percentage points of the strongest quarter of the last two years, Q3 2025 at 16.6%. If Q3 2026 simply matches the 16.6% of Q3 2025, the gain in the first half will hold but not widen. A Q3 figure well above 17% would suggest that the improvement is structural, driven by cost and plant loading, rather than a timing effect from an early spring season.
Romania delivered 1 million tires in 2025, one sixth of its 6 million tire capacity
The Oradea plant is the hinge of the turnaround. Nokian's investment budget for it is about EUR 650 million. The European Commission approved EUR 99.5 million of Romanian state aid in August 2024, equal to 15.3% of that budget. Construction started in May 2023, the first tire came off the line on 1 July 2024, first deliveries followed in March 2025 and commercial deliveries began in the second quarter of 2025.
By October 2025 the factory was running around the clock, and the Financial Statement Release 2025 confirmed about 1 million tires delivered in the year. Against an annual capacity of about 6 million tires, that is a 16.7% loading in the first commercial year. The H1 2025 report set full capacity for the end of 2027. The 2025 release was more careful: the ramp-up will continue until full capacity is reached "based on future demand".
Ramp-up costs show the burden still being carried. Nokian excludes them from its segment figures, and they rose from EUR 22.1 million in 2024 to EUR 46.9 million in 2025. In the first half of 2026 they fell to EUR 16.2 million from EUR 22.4 million a year earlier. Reported operating profit, which includes these costs, was EUR 35.8 million in 2025 against EUR 91.3 million on the segments basis. The gap between the two numbers is the cost of building a new supply base, and it is shrinking.
Capital expenditure tells the same story. It was EUR 252.1 million in 2023 and peaked at EUR 350.1 million in 2024, then dropped to EUR 126.9 million in 2025. First-half 2026 capex was EUR 24.5 million, against EUR 89.7 million in the first half of 2025. The heavy build phase is over, but net debt stood at EUR 815.0 million at the end of June 2026, so cash generation from the winter season matters.
Central and Southern Europe grew 21.0% while North America stalled
Oradea's first products target Central and Southern Europe, and the first-half 2026 regional split shows where the new volume is going. Net sales in Central and Southern Europe rose 21.0%, from EUR 142.0 million to EUR 171.8 million. The Nordics, still the core market, grew 5.2% to EUR 333.4 million. North America slipped 0.3% in reported euros to EUR 150.6 million, although it grew 5.6% in comparable currencies.
The full-year 2025 numbers show the same direction at a slower pace. Nordic sales rose 4.5% to EUR 727.4 million, other Europe 7.4% to EUR 343.2 million and the Americas 10.3% to EUR 298.0 million. The Nordic share of group sales fell from 54.0% in 2024 to 53.0% in 2025. Nokian is still a Nordic winter specialist, but every point of share that moves south reduces its dependence on one region's winter.
Product launches back this up. Oradea began building the Powerproof 2 summer tire for Central and Southern Europe in 2025, and on 8 September 2026 Nokian added the Powerproof E summer range. On 15 September 2026 it put the studded Hakkapeliitta 01 on sale for the 2026 winter in the Nordics, North America and Central Europe, saying dealer pre-sales exceeded expectations, without giving a number.
Guidance of 8-10% needs a second half at least as good as 2025
Nokian guides to a 2026 group segments operating margin of 8-10% and expects demand in its markets to stay flat. Its updated long-term targets, set in February 2026 and running to the end of 2029, call for net sales of EUR 1.8-2.0 billion, a segments operating margin above 15% and a segments EBITDA margin above 24%.
The arithmetic is tight. In the first half of 2026 the group earned EUR 40.7 million on EUR 659.6 million of sales, a 6.2% margin. In the second half of 2025 it earned EUR 83.5 million on EUR 760.4 million, an 11.0% margin. Our calculation: if second-half 2026 sales are flat and the 11.0% margin repeats, the full-year margin lands at 8.7%, inside the range but near its bottom. Reaching 10% would need a second-half margin of about 13.3% on flat sales. Q3 is therefore the quarter that decides whether 2026 is a mid-range or a low-range year.
The long-term sales target needs EUR 426.4 million more revenue than in 2025 just to reach the lower end, 31.0% growth in four years in a market Nokian itself calls flat. That is only plausible if Oradea moves well past its first million tires and the company keeps taking share in Central Europe and North America.
What the turnaround means for tire makers, distributors, raw-material buyers and investors
Tire makers. A rival that sells EUR 858.4 million of passenger tires a year still has about 5 million tires a year of unused Oradea capacity to fill in a flat market. Competitors in the Central European premium summer and all-season segments should expect Nokian to price for plant loading while Oradea remains far below capacity. In the Nordic winter segment, the Hakkapeliitta 01 launch shows Nokian leaning on new product at the top of its range.
Distributors and dealers. Nokian's own Vianor chain earned a segment operating loss of EUR 3.5 million on EUR 363.8 million of sales in 2025 and lost EUR 11.4 million in the first half of 2026, with 170 service centers. Independent dealers in the Nordics compete with a manufacturer-owned network that is not yet profitable. They also gain a supplier with a second EU production base alongside Finland, which reduces single-plant supply risk.
Raw-material buyers and suppliers. Nokian cites lower material costs as a driver of the 2026 margin. A plant ramping from 1 million toward 6 million tires is a growing buyer of natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black, silica and steel cord in south-eastern Europe. Suppliers with regional logistics into Romania are best placed as volumes build.
OEMs. Nokian sells mostly into the replacement market, so the direct OE effect is small. The more relevant point for vehicle makers is an additional EU tire source from a plant Nokian describes as the first zero CO2 tire factory.
Investors. The questions for 27 October are whether Q3 passenger margin beats 16.6%, whether Romanian ramp-up costs keep falling, and whether net debt starts to come down from EUR 815.0 million after the winter sell-in. Long-term targets aside, the 8-10% guidance already assumes a second half no weaker than 2025.
For market sizing on the segments involved, see Radial Insights' Winter (Snow) Tires market report, the Europe Passenger Car Tires market report and the Tire Studs market report.
Methodology and sources
All financial figures are Nokian Tyres' own reported numbers in EUR million. Segment figures are the company's non-IFRS measures, which exclude Russia from 2022 onward and exclude Romanian and US factory ramp-up costs. Growth rates, shares and the full-year margin scenarios were calculated by Radial Insights from the reported figures. Margin changes are stated in percentage points where relevant. The 2022 figures are the continuing-operations comparatives published in the Q1 2023 report.
- Nokian Tyres Interim Report January-March 2023 (25 April 2023): 2022 continuing segments and Passenger Car Tyres figures, Russian and Kazakh 2022 net sales, Tatneft sale and price.
- Nokian Tyres Financial Statement Release 2024 (4 February 2025): 2023 and 2024 group and segment figures, capital expenditure.
- Nokian Tyres Financial Statement Release 2025 (10 February 2026): 2025 group, segment and regional figures, Q4 2025, Romanian deliveries and ramp-up costs, capex, 2026 guidance and targets to end-2029.
- Nokian Tyres Half Year Financial Report January-June 2025 (18 July 2025): H1 2025 and Q2 2024 segment figures, Oradea delivery timeline and EUR 650 million budget.
- Nokian Tyres Interim Report January-September 2025 (28 October 2025): Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 Passenger Car Tyres margins, Oradea 24/7 operation.
- Nokian Tyres Interim Report January-March 2026 (22 April 2026): Q1 2025 and Q1 2026 segment margins.
- Nokian Tyres Half Year Financial Report January-June 2026 (17 July 2026): H1 and Q2 2026 group, segment and regional figures, ramp-up costs, capex, net debt, Vianor.
- Nokian Tyres release on EU state aid approval (13 August 2024): EUR 99.5 million aid, 6 million tire capacity, construction and first-tire dates.
- Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta 01 sales release (15 September 2026): product type, markets and pre-sales comment.
- Nokian Tyres Powerproof E launch release (8 September 2026): summer range addition.
- Nokian Tyres Q3 2026 reporting date notice (15 October 2026): 27 October 2026 report date.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Passenger Car Tyres segment operating margin rose from -3.1% in 2022 to 9.4% in 2025, and reached 10.8% in the first half of 2026 against 2.6% a year earlier.
About 1 million tires were delivered in 2025 against an annual capacity of about 6 million, a 16.7% loading in the first commercial year. Romanian ramp-up costs excluded from segment results fell to EUR 16.2 million in H1 2026 from EUR 22.4 million.
Nokian budgets about EUR 650 million for the plant, and the European Commission approved EUR 99.5 million of Romanian state aid in August 2024, equal to 15.3% of the budget.
Central and Southern Europe grew 21.0% to EUR 171.8 million in H1 2026, compared with 5.2% growth in the Nordics and a 0.3% decline in North America in reported euros.
If second-half sales are flat and the 11.0% margin of H2 2025 repeats, the full-year group segments margin would be 8.7%. Reaching 10% would need a second-half margin of about 13.3%.
The key benchmark is the 16.6% Passenger Car Tyres margin of Q3 2025, along with Romanian ramp-up costs and net debt of EUR 815.0 million at the end of June 2026.