*As Asian manufacturers capture 80% of N1trn tyre market
WorldStage– Rather than boost local production, Nigeria’s jacking up of the import tariff on tyres from 10 percent to 40 percent seems to have increased the market dependence on importation to 100 percent.
And Linglong, Zhongce Rubber, Triangle Tyres, Sailu among other Asian manufacturers have captured 80 percent of the N1-trillion tyre market, beating international exporters like Dunlop, Michelin, Goodyear, and Bridgestone to it.
According to the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Nigeria spent N1 trillion on tyre importation in 2024.
The council D-G Oluwemimo Osanipin in Abuja recently called on the federal government to ban tyre importation because Nigeria is exporting too much of the money that can grow its local factories.
But it all comes down to what Nigerian car owners want, government policy goals notwithstanding. And Osanipin’s call apparently ignored that reality in a country that boasts only one local tyre manufacturer, CCLE Rubber FZE.
The manufacture started operation in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in 2021, producing only specialized tyre that meets international standard.
But most of the 12 million cars the automobile industry estimates belong to only 6 percent of the population are passengers vehicles, with a small percent of logistics ones. Ninety-five percent of these, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics says, are second-hand. Well over half of that number come from the US alone, according to the International Trade Administration, and more than a quarter from Europe. They need just replacement tyres whose adaptation, sizing, production, and exportation the Asian manufacturers have perfected at scale, and even branded ‘for Nigeria”.
And what gives them the edge is while many of the manufacturers/exporters disregard Nigerians’ budget-first buying psychology, and stick with their premium brands, the Asian competitors take it seriously.
Data from Blueweb Enterprise and Henry& Henry Nigeria Ltd, respective trading partners of Linglong Tyre and Zhongce Rubber, available on www.trademo.com reveals comparatively higher 2025 trade volume: $2.27 million for LingLong in 2024 and $7.4 million for Zhongce between September 2022 and 2025.
Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, and others rank ahead of the Chinese manufacturers (Linglong 17, according to Tyrepress ranking) in terms of volume and premium branding. But in Nigeria where affordability matters more than durability, Linglong and others dominate the market.
Worse still, the return of Dunlop and Michelin hasn’t helped. Both have no plan to set up factories but just trade offices and rubber plantations for export.
The two manufacturers left Nigeria following a policy that slashed import tariff to 10 percent in 2005.
While the policy favours local manufacturers now, the operating environment with its poor power supply, inadequate infrastructure, raw material sourcing remain.
