Analyst: West Europe tire capacity down by 38M units in last 5 years

From Tyrepress (subscription required): DB Equity Research Automotive analyst Gaetan Toulemonde estimates that the tire industry in Western Europe has reduced its passenger car tire capacity by 38 million units over the last five years. This includes recent announcements from Goodyear and Bridgestone (in France and Italy, respectively), which total some 13 million units, as well as closures by Michelin, Continental and Pirelli in 2009, which removed 25 million units. According to Toulemonde, current tire demand in Western Europe totals 275 million units, including 65 million OEM and 200 million replacement. According to Toulemonde, this demand has remained stable over the last five years, but reduced local production has been offset by higher imports, primarily from China. According to the Deutsche Bank analyst, the average cost of producing a tyre in Western Europe is 8 euros – a high figure in comparison with other regions. (Note that Toulemonde is not including the central European countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia in these totals).