Don't pull the rubber: why summer tires have become cheaper in Russia
During the year, the average cost of summer tires in Russia decreased by 8.5%. This is due to dumping by Chinese tire manufacturers, which account for 75% of all imports of automotive rubber into our country. At the same time, experts' opinions on the quality and characteristics of tires from China differ. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The concept is extensible
The average cost of a summer tire in Russia is 9.8 thousand rubles. Such data is provided by the National Agency for Industrial Information (NAPI). Over the year, tire prices decreased by 8.5%. At the same time, all-season tires have fallen in price by 1.5% compared to February last year. The average price of such a tire decreased by only 200 rubles, from 13.4 thousand to 13.2 thousand rubles per unit.
Experts explain the price reduction by the appearance on the Russian market of a significant number of Chinese manufacturers, where many tire models are significantly cheaper than both domestic counterparts and foreign tires supplied to our country through alternative channels. According to Oleg Rastegaev, a tire tester at Avtorevue, there are now more than 200 tire brands from China on our market.
— If we consider tires measuring 17-18 inches, which are most often installed on the most popular crossovers, then a model produced in China can be found for 7-8 thousand rubles. Russian tires of the same size are one and a half, or even two times more expensive," he notes.
In addition, according to Oleg Rastegaev, the decrease in the average price of automobile "rubber" is also due to the difficult situation that developed in the Russian tire market last year.
— Tire sales are directly related to cars. Following the decrease in the number of new cars sold, tire sales also decreased. As a result, in order to prevent overstocking of warehouses, manufacturers and dealers try to keep the cost of tires, some sellers introduce discounts," the expert noted.
The Cordiant company (which produces Gislaved, Cordiant, Torero, Tunga tires at factories in Yaroslavl, Omsk, as well as at former Continental enterprises in Kaluga and Bridgestone in Ulyanovsk) believes that low prices for Chinese tires are mainly due to the lack of important components for consumers: official distributors in the Russian Federation, official warranty support from manufacturers, confirmed by research and independent performance tests. And, in general, it is often impossible to trace the origin and work history of many Chinese brands represented in Russia, the company notes.
— By the end of 2025, China accounts for 75% of imports. Such a large number of Chinese tires created the illusion of choice on the market and led to dumping," the Cordiant press service emphasizes.
To take or not to take
Experts' opinions on the quality and characteristics of Chinese tires differ. According to Dmitry Akzholov, head of the Marshall auto parts brand, Chinese car tires can fail in difficult road conditions. Their use is a compromise and savings on safety, due to poor grip on wet asphalt and rapid wear, he notes.
— If the budget is tight, then choose trusted Koreans. They are officially supplied to Russia, they are significantly cheaper than the previous premium, and they still keep the bar," recommends Dmitry Akzholov.
Oleg Rastegaev adheres to a less radical point of view. Among the variety of tire brands from China represented on our market, there are indeed models with very mediocre characteristics and properties. But at the same time, there are quite a lot of tires with the brand Made in China, which in their qualities are very close to well-known world manufacturers, the Autoreview tester emphasizes. We can draw an analogy with cars from China: cars from ten years ago caused a lot of complaints and complaints, there are much fewer questions about modern models, he recalled.
— Chinese tire manufacturers have the most modern technical and testing centers, they actively implement the most advanced technologies both in the development and production of new tire models. And the progress in the characteristics of Chinese tires is obvious: comparative tests show that in many respects they are already very close or not inferior to the world's renowned tire manufacturers. Therefore, when choosing Chinese tires, you should focus on the novelty of the model," Oleg Rastegaev said in a conversation with Izvestia.
When to "change shoes"
Despite the warming in Moscow, the metropolitan transport department advises against rushing to change winter tires to summer ones. Oleg Rastegaev shares the same point of view, noting that it is not just too early to "change shoes" a car, but even dangerous.
— During the day, snowdrifts along the roads are actively melting in the sun. But at night and in the morning, and often during the day, a layer of ice forms in the shade on the roadway, on which the behavior of the car on summer tires is unpredictable. To change winter tires to summer tires, it is necessary to wait until the average daily temperature is five to seven degrees above zero," Oleg Rastegaev noted.
However, it is not worth delaying the change of car "shoes". Winter tires are more "soft" and are designed to work in sub-zero temperatures: on warm asphalt, they begin to wear out very quickly, the expert explained.
Oleg Rastegaev reminded that, according to the traffic regulations, the residual tread depth of summer tires for passenger cars should not be less than 1.6 mm. However, this indicator is already critical, he stressed. With such wear, the risk of aquaplaning increases dramatically when the tread pattern cannot handle water drainage. Because of this, on wet roads, even at low speed, the car becomes uncontrollable, the expert warns. Therefore, the Autoreview tester recommends not to bring tire wear to the "legal" 1.6 mm, but to replace them with new ones earlier, with a residual tread depth of about 3 mm.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
