The number of cars in the world has exceeded 1.5 billion. China exceeded the 300 million vehicle mark for the first time, surpassing the United States (about 270 million vehicles) to become the country with the largest number of cars in a single country in the world. As one of the important components of the automobile, the tire industry has also ushered in a huge space for development.
According to Brand Finance's 2022 Tyres 15 2022 list, France's Michelin became the world's most valuable tire brand for five consecutive years with $7.736 billion; followed by Japan's Bridgestone ($7.099 billion), Germany's mainland horse brand ($4.253 billion); Dunlop and Goodyear's brand value both exceeded $2 billion, ranking 4th and 5th, respectively.
Ranked 6-10 are Pirelli, Hankook, Yokohama, Tongyiou Tire, Giti; China has two brands on the list, Linglong Tire and Racing Wheel ranked 11th and 12th respectively; India's Apollo Tire, The United States Cooper Tire, India's MRF ranked 13th, 14th and 15th.
Brief introduction: Linglong Tire was established in the mid-1970s, is a collection of tire research and development, manufacturing, sales and service as one of the technical tire manufacturers, headquartered in Zhaoyuan, Shandong. It has a number of brands such as Linglong, ATLAS, EVOLUXX, etc., which are widely used in passenger cars, commercial vehicles, construction machinery vehicles, etc. Revenue in 2020 was 18.383 billion yuan.
In the list of original tire brands in the Chinese market, Linglong Tire ranks first among domestic brands, and also ranks first in the list of pure electric new car original tire brands, including Wuling Hongguang MINI, BYD QinPULS, Song PRO, FAW Hongqi E-HS3, E-HS9 and so on. It provides supporting services for more than 100 production bases of more than 60 automobile plants around the world, covering well-known brands such as Audi, Volkswagen and General Motors, with a total supporting total of more than 200 million pieces, ranking first in China for many consecutive years.
The predecessor of the company, "Shandong Zhaoyuan Repair Factory", is mainly engaged in retreading and repairing old tires, there is no technical content to speak of, and the development is basically in place. In the past twelve years, six factory directors have been changed, the equipment and technology are still backward, and the total assets are not yet 500,000 yuan. Under the impact of the market tide, it was once unable to make ends meet and was on the verge of closure.
Until 1987, Wang Xicheng, who was nearly 40 years old, was appointed as the eighth director of the factory. After some market research, he put forward the development policy of "roadside to road, and strive for upstream in the middle of the road" and began to start a second venture. He rushed to the front line as a soldier, took a nap in the office when he was sleepy, and nibbled on a few cold steamed buns when he was hungry. Under the leadership of Wang Xicheng, 92,000 sets of tires were successfully produced that year, with an output value of 6.5 million yuan and a profit of 450,000 yuan.
By the early 1990s, the annual output value of Linglong Tire exceeded 100 million yuan. The products have gradually developed from the original low-grade carriage tires to the five major tire series of cars, light trucks, engineering, load capacity and agriculture, realizing the transformation from tire repair to large-scale production of oblique tires.
In 2001, the comprehensive strength of Linglong Tire has ranked among the top 10 in China's tire industry. Wang Xicheng proposed to lead the enterprise to develop by leaps and bounds, from a single oblique tire production to a meridian tire production. For example, if the oblique tire is compared to a black-and-white television, then the meridian tire is equivalent to a color television.
In September of the same year, the first semi-steel radial tire was successfully rolled off the production line, and in November, the project with an annual output of 300,000 sets of all-steel radial tires broke ground. It took only 11 months to complete and put into production, creating a "delicate speed" that shocked the industry.
At the same time, Wang Xicheng put forward an internationalization strategy and led Linglong Tire to "go out". Today, its products are exported to more than 180 countries and regions around the world, and there is a network of nearly 300 first-class distributors overseas. The company has set up R&D institutions in Zhaoyuan, Yantai, Beijing, Shanghai, Jinan, Germany and the United States, and established a global R&D institution of "three countries and seven places";
At present, Linglong Tire has two production bases in Thailand and Serbia overseas, five production bases in Zhaoyuan, Dezhou, Liuzhou, Jingmen and Changchun in China, and has determined to build The sixth and seventh production bases in China in Tongchuan, Shaanxi and Lujiang, Hefei, Anhui.
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According to the "2021 Hurun Rich List", Wang Xicheng's family wealth reached 26 billion yuan, an increase of 21% year-on-year, ranking sixth among entrepreneurs in Shandong. Last year, Linglong Tire is expected to have a net profit of 880 million to 1.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 50%-60%, and the increase in the procurement cost of major raw materials has led to a significant increase in the company's product costs.
Some industry insiders pointed out that the current global tire market is still dominated by European, American and Japanese brands. From the perspective of share, Chinese enterprises still have a lot of room for improvement.