Red flags over Chinese tyres in South Africa

[TopAuto]

Red flags over Chinese tyres in South Africa

The South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference has sounded the alarm over an influx of cheap tyres from China, which are threatening local factories.

 

[My_King]

I bought 4, not one Chinese flag came with them.

 

[Carl_Johnson]

I bought 4, not one Chinese flag came with them.

You bought the wrong brand, these ones come with the free red flag.

 

[My_King]

You bought the wrong brand, these ones come with the free red flag.
View attachment 1932393

My inverter battery was actually a Dragon brand

Still no red flag though

 

[Fulcrum29]

So... These brands don't come with premium tyres, and only locally made tyres are premium?

Nearly two dozen Chinese car brands now operate in South Africa, many of which only launched within the last three years, including GAC, BYD, Changan, Foton, Geely, Omoda, Jaecoo, Jetour, JMC, MG, Lepas, and iCAUR.

SATMC managing executive Nduduzo Chala explained that, since these brands import their cars as completely built-up units, they are equipped with Chinese tyres.

In an interview with CapeTalk, Chala urged consumers to replace these tyres with locally made ones when the time comes to replace them, using brands like Continental, Dunlop, or Bridgestone.

He said that motorists generally prefer to replace tyres with the same brand, making it easier to sell locally-made tyres if cars are already equipped with them.

“[Local tyres] have got benefits other than to say you are fitting premium tyres. It’s also got an effect on jobs, sustainability, and local sourcing that goes beyond that local manufacturing,” he said.

I mean, when it is not premium in this context, what is it then? Budget? What is being insinuated? Budget is hazardous?

That is very clear industrial lobbying and leading thought to purchase 'premium' brands, though these premium brands also scale.

What TopAuto should do is a price comparison and real-world tests, and the SATMC should support that. Real-world tests could advance a case to produce Chinese tyres here, but that would not be in the premium brands best interest.

It is also worth noting what is best practice when it comes to replacing tyres, ignoring alignment and all that.

All this said, some Chinese brands (product type pending), in select markets, do indeed come equipped with premium tyres under OEM conditions, meaning that the vehicle was designed with these tyres in mind. Here is an article that was produced with a quick search,

Press Release - BYD Seal U Comes Out of Factory on Continental Tires

www.continental-tires.com

Hanover, Germany, November 12, 2024 – BYD relies on Continental's tire expertise for the original equipment of its Seal U. For the electric SUV, the tire manufacturer has received original equipment approval: The car runs out of the factory on PremiumContact C (the C here stands for comfort) tires in 19-inch sizes. The tire is designed for quiet and energy efficient driving. Electric vehicles such as the BYD Seal U in particular benefit from these properties.

...

For more than a decade now, Continental's developers have been optimizing tires to achieve ever lower rolling resistance, low rolling noise and high mileage – without compromising on safety features. For example, all tires from Continental meet the requirements of electric vehicles and at the same time are also able to sustainably reduce emissions from combustion vehicles. In the Asia-Pacific region, the five most successful manufacturers of electric vehicles recently relied on Continental tires for the original equipment of their vehicles.

Those are mostly Chinese brands, right?

The same can potentially be done here. Produce the tyres locally and assemble the vehicles locally... Jobs, sustainability, and I don't know much about local sourcing, but I know things about red tape.