PARIS--Sales of tires improved in September, confirming the moderate recovery of the global tire market, data released Wednesday by French tire maker Michelin (ML.FR) showed.
Tire sales in Europe were hit earlier in the year by weak demand in a market suffering from a morose economic climate, but rose 2% in September amid signs that the decline in car sales is bottoming out. Earlier Wednesday, data released by the European car makers' association showed a 5.4% rise in car sales in September compared with a year earlier.
Sales of original equipment tires to manufacturers of cars and light vans rose 11% in the North American market in September compared with the same month of 2012, Michelin said. Sales in this market segment declined by 1% in Brazil, it said.
Sales of replacement tires rose by 6% in North America in September, and were up 5% in Europe and 2% in Brazil.
In the first nine months of this year, original equipment sales rose by 4% in North America and by 9% in Brazil, but were down 2% in Europe. Replacement tire sales rose 4% in North America and by 11% in Brazil in the nine months to Sept. 30, but were down 1% in Europe, Michelin said. |