Demand for budget tyres growing

Belgian wholesaler Deldo is one of the largest operators in Europe, and amongst the more than 25 brands stocked at the company's 60.000 square metre warehouse in Antwerp are four exclusive and three private brands – Fortuna, Minerva and Imperial. The labels are aimed at the budget segment, an area where Deldo reports seeing significant growth during the last 12 months.

In an interview with Tyres & Accessories, Deldo marketing manager Rutger Veerman stated the company has "noticed a growing demand in the European replacement market. Acceptance of Chinese products is growing, and we are benefitting from this".

Consumers are looking for a optimal price / quality ratio. Also, the acceptance for Chinese tyres is improving worldwide, since they invested a lot in quality and development. Tyre dealers are aware of this trend, and would like to reach all possible customers. If you don’t include budget tyres into your portfolio, you are missing a total market potential of about 10-20%.

Especially high performance tyres (17 inch and up) can create a good profit to the tyre dealer. Tyres are also offered regularly in combination with alloy wheels.

Deldo sold more than 4 million tyres from China during 2010, and has a clear focus during the coming years to further expand within this segment.