Pirelli Tires Bought by Chinese Company

yoshi2012 · Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:24 pm

In case you guys are pirelli tire customers, soon the tires will be made in china

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/ ... PQ20150323

Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:14 am

yoshi2012 wrote:In case you guys are pirelli tire customers, soon the tires will be made in china

Not necessarily. It's merely Chinese ownership. Manufacturing doesn't necessarily have to change. Keep in mind the Chinese own Volvo but the Volvos sold in Europe and America are made in Sweden or Belgium. The Volvos sold in China are made in China.

Also, many tires are made outside of the brand's country of origin or ownership. My Kizashi's Michelins (a French brand) were made in the USA. A set of Pirellis (Italian) I used to have on my Mazda were made in Brazil. A set of Sumitomos (Japanese) I had were made in Thailand.

yoshi2012 · Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:03 am

KuroNekko wrote:
yoshi2012 wrote:In case you guys are pirelli tire customers, soon the tires will be made in china
Not necessarily. It's merely Chinese ownership. Manufacturing doesn't necessarily have to change. Keep in mind the Chinese own Volvo but the Volvos sold in Europe and America are made in Sweden or Belgium. The Volvos sold in China are made in China.

Also, many tires are made outside of the brand's country of origin or ownership. My Kizashi's Michelins (a French brand) were made in the USA. A set of Pirellis (Italian) I used to have on my Mazda were made in Brazil. A set of Sumitomos (Japanese) I had were made in Thailand.

I personally trust something made in USA, Germany, Italy or Japan more than I would China, especially when it comes to tires. My Nokian WRG3's are made in Finland , Nokian is a Finnish company, now isn't that rare . If Nokian ever outsourced to China I would stop buying them for sure.

I can't imagine pirelli having the same quality and QC as they would if its made in Italy.

Fritz2 · Sun Apr 12, 2015 6:08 pm

KuroNekko, I read recently that Volvo will be introducing the 1st Chinese vehicle to be sold in the states very soon. Maybe just a rumor? I wouldn't pay a luxury vehicle price for an untried Chinese made vehicle. The engineering by Volvo might be great, but quality control and material quality are an unknown.

Woodie · Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:01 am

90% of things you buy are made in China.

Besides, we said the exact same thing 15 years ago about Korean cars, they're now pretty highly regarded. Same thing was said about Japanese cars 50 years ago, now that's my first choice.

Mon Apr 13, 2015 4:33 pm

Fritz2 wrote:KuroNekko, I read recently that Volvo will be introducing the 1st Chinese vehicle to be sold in the states very soon. Maybe just a rumor? I wouldn't pay a luxury vehicle price for an untried Chinese made vehicle. The engineering by Volvo might be great, but quality control and material quality are an unknown.

I highly doubt Volvo will sell Chinese-made cars in the US market. That would be brand suicide given many Americans have the same sentiments that you do. Given Volvos are priced like some German luxury cars, there is no way they can sell Volvos here for those prices when they're made in China.

As for Chinese-made cars, yes, they are coming. Warren Buffet is on board with a Chinese car maker that plans to sell cars in the US in the next few years. Keep in mind that while it may seem like a huge turn-off, many consumers in the US rather get a cheap new car than a better used one. The success of the new Mitsubishi Mirage is proof. It's actually selling quite well despite many auto journalists thinking it's the worst car you could buy. Some people simply want a cheap but brand new car. The Mirage is even made in Thailand, not Japan or the USA like the other models sold in America. Also keep in mind that many Fords, VWs, and now future Japanese cars will be made in Mexico. If Mexican-made cars can be accepted by American consumers, I can't imagine why Chinese-made ones wouldn't. China has much more manufacturing experience.

Lastly, keep in mind that while we Americans consider China to be inexperienced at automobile manufacturing due to the lack of their products here, it's not the case in Asia. Nearly all brands that sell in China, build in China. If you buy a Honda, Ford, Chevy, or even a Volvo in China, it was very likely built there. China also has been building their own cars for quite a while now. There are Chinese brands like Geely, BYD, GAIG, Dongfeng, and SAIC which are unknown to Americans but everywhere in China. The Chinese have also already built cars to European crash specs so you can imagine they're getting ready for serious export in the near future.

Personally, I think Chinese-made and even Chinese-branded vehicles will do decently once settled in the American market. Doesn't necessarily mean I'll go buy one but if cars like the Mitsubishi Mirage can find owners, no doubt cheap Chinese cars will find owners in the US.

Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:47 pm

2016 Volvo S60L will be the first Chinese made Volvo sold in North America. The whole thing is a bit ironic, given Volvo's reputation for safety and China's lack thereof

Made in China is okay if there is strict QC, but that doesn't seem to be common nowadays. I come across this quite often with parts suppliers now. Once upon a time, you could go with any European branded part and be fine. Now you have to be careful as many brands (eg Febi, Meyle) are outsourcing to China and the European made parts (eg Lemförder) are significantly better, even if both are made to "specs"

twoqttsdad · Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:25 am

I would choose a US or Japan made tire over one made in China. I still would...

BUT

I noticed that we hardly get customer returns on tires made in China due to tread separation, zipper tears, or other materials or workmanship related issues.

From what I've seen, the cheap stuff is okay, just doesn't last or wear as good as a comparable top tier tire. They all have DOT approval.

Still...

Tue Apr 14, 2015 1:33 am

A % of total units sold would be more accurate

I do wonder about the future of Chinese cars in NA. The entry of Japanese and Korean competitors wasn't exactly stellar, and look at them now

Fritz2 · Tue Apr 14, 2015 1:42 am

I'm not saying folks won't buy an inexpensive Chinese car. I see the point there. I just find it unusual to start at the higher end of the market, where there is going to be far less tolerance of any problems. Toyota had to recall a large number of Chinese made Corollas (for the Chinese market), and Ford is having problems with a percentage of Mustang manual transmissions made by Getrag in China. They no doubt will be good and probably in less time than it took Japan, and then Korea, I'm just not seeing it yet.