Irish tyre trade visits another Tire Cologne

The Tire Cologne, the biennial trade fair for the global tyre and wheel industries, took place once again in its namesake city in Germany.

Figures released by show organiser Koelnmesse suggest that some 14,600 trade visitors from 110 countries attended the show between 9th – 11th June, with around 400 exhibitors from 33 countries coming together across three halls. This is down on the reported 430 exhibitors from 2024.

As always, The Tire Cologne attracted strong interest from the Irish tyre trade. This year however, the topic of discussion among wholesalers and distributors centred around the anti-dumping duties on passenger car and light truck tyres imported from China.

The shared view among those we spoke to at the show was that there could be a shortage of budget and mid-range tyres across Europe as early as the end of 2026. Over 100 million Chinese passenger car tyres were imported into Europe in 2025. At present, no other production facility outside of China can replicate that total volume – certainly not in the short to medium term.

Elsewhere at the show, digitalisation, workshop processes, OTR, sustainability and circular economy were discussed across on-stage talks and interactive zones.

The ‘Global OTR Conference’ session made its Tire Cologne debut. In demanding working environments such as mining, construction, waste management and heavy industry, the emphasis was put on sustainability, namely durability, repairability, retreading compatibility, service quality and operational reliability in the off-the-road segment.

At the same time, formats such as the ‘Innovation Lab’, the ‘Tire Stage’ and the ‘Walk of Services’ created space for practical solutions, new ideas and direct exchange between manufacturers, retailers, service providers, associations and partners.

Koelnmesse has confirmed that The Tire Cologne will take place again from 30th May – 1st June, 2028.