Pirelli Boosting China Capacity, Plans

Within the next two years capacity at Pirelli’s Jining factory in China’s Shandong province will double to 10 million tires per annum. Tires for cars like this are high on Pirelli's list of priorities for China.

During a China-based interview with Bloomberg TV on Feb. 24, company chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera mentioned the capacity expansion as part of a 300 million euro investment in China to be made over the coming three years – Pirelli previously postponed its investment there in 2009 due to the recession.

Projected 2011 sales growth for the Asia region has been revised from 15% to 20% due to increasing demand for more expensive vehicles in China, Tronchetti Provera stated. During the 2010 calendar year passenger car sales there rose 33.2%, with a total of 13.76 million vehicles sold.

At present China accounts for 7% of the tiremaker’s sales; this may grow to 10% within two years, the Pirelli Chairman told Bloomberg. He also emphasised Pirelli’s focus in China: “For us, what’s important is the high-end, expensive cars. We are not looking for the mass market.” (Tyres & Accessories)