I. Introduce
On the afternoon of March 28, 2025, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 occurred in northern Myanmar. Thailand, which is adjacent to Myanmar, declared a state of emergency in its capital Bangkok. The powerful seismic waves of the Myanmar earthquake also made local Thai residents feel strong tremors. A high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed in the earthquake.
As Thailand is an important overseas base for Chinese tire companies, the situation of Thailand tire manufacturer has aroused strong concern in the industry.
II. What are the Chinese tire factories in Thailand?
Since 2014, many countries have started to implement a boycott policy against Chinese tires. The United States, Europe, and Southeast Asian countries have begun to impose tariffs on Chinese tires. In order to go global, Chinese tires have set off a wave of building factories overseas. Among them, the place with the most tyre factories is Thailand. Chinese tire companies have set up tire factories in Thailand mainly in Rayong Province in central Thailand and Chonburi in eastern Thailand.
Next, we will briefly introduce the top 5 Thailand tire manufacturers.
Zhongce Rubber Thailand Tire Manufacturer
On June 29, 2015, Zhongce Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd. held its opening ceremony, marking the start of Zhongce Rubber’s overseas tire production. The total investment for the first and second phases of the project is approximately 24 billion baht.
With Thailand as its base, Zhongce Thailand tire factory has comprehensively explored the Asian market, and has improved its market share in the local market and the popularity and reputation of its brand tires among consumers in multiple ways and through multiple channels. It has also comprehensively promoted Zhongce’s terminal coverage in the global market and won the favor and recognition of consumers.
LingLong Tyre Thailand Tire Manufacturer
Like Zhongce Rubber Thailand tire factory, Linglong Tire also chose Thailand as its first overseas factory.
The full production of the Thailand tire factory is a major milestone in the continued rapid development of Linglong Tire, and it also shows Linglong’s desire and determination to develop in Thailand and other emerging markets. In the future, Linglong Thailand tire manufacturer will make full use of its inherent geographical advantages to build the Thai factory into an important tire export base and unremittingly provide excellent products to global consumers.
Sentury Tire Thailand Company Limited
On August 28, 2015, the first high-performance semi-steel radial tire of Sentury Tire (Thailand) Co., Ltd. successfully rolled off the production line, marking the first step of the successful globalization development strategy of Sentury.
DOUBLECOIN Tire Thailand Tire Manufacturer
On July 17, 2017, Shanghai Huayi (Group)’s joint venture factory in Rayong Industrial Park, Thailand, officially started producing truck and bus tires. With the help of the Thai factory, Double Coin quickly entered the North American truck and bus tire market.
As a tyre manufacturers in Thailand, Frico thailand tire factory have invested over 80+ million dollars in an intelligent truck tire production line. This has significantly enhanced the production speed and quality of Frico tires. We are committed to continuously improving our tire products through innovation and creative thinking. By adopting the latest tire technology and materials, Frico are constantly exploring and developing new tire models and patterns. We consistently produce high-quality tires that meet the needs of our customers. Every tire produce is synonymous with quality and high performance. Whether you require tires with high traction for off-road operations or for high-speed, high-mileage driving, Frico tires can meet your needs.
III. Thailand Factory Reported Safe
As an important overseas base for Chinese tire companies, the situation of the Thailand factory has aroused strong concern in the industry. So far, Sentury Tire Thailand factory has reported that it is safe – the Rayong tire factory in Thailand has not been affected by the earthquake, and production and operation are normal without affecting shipments to overseas markets.
However, Sentury Tire Thailand factory also said that due to the impact of aftershocks, the closure of Thailand ports has posed a challenge to sea transportation supply. However, late at night on March 30, the Thai National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Command Center has lowered the earthquake disaster response level from Level 3 (major disaster) to Level 2 (moderate disaster). Port transportation is expected to gradually resume.
At the same time, according to the information given by Sentury Tire Thailand factory, the inventory in its US warehouse is sufficient, and dealers do not need to worry about supply shortages.
In addition, Linglong Tire Thailand factory also reported that it was safe. Linglong Tire Thailand factory base is located in Chonburi, far away from Myanmar, and the Myanmar earthquake did not affect the base. According to the location of the Thailand factory disclosed by the tire companies before, it is expected that the Thai factories of Chinese tire companies are in normal production.
IV. Advantages of Thailand tire factory
Chonburi and Rayong are the largest automobile industrial bases in Thailand and are known as the “Detroit of Asia”. In fact, foreign tire giants such as Bridgestone, Continental, Sumitomo Rubber and Yokohama have also set up production bases in Rayong to meet the needs of supporting, local and overseas markets.
In addition, although Chinese tire companies have not set foot in central Thailand, the well-known automobile and parts industry cluster in Thailand is an important center of Thailand’s machinery and equipment manufacturing industry. Michelin tire is one of the foreign giants that has set up operations in central Thailand.
It can be seen that unlike foreign companies that want to better localize operations, the Thai base is more like an export channel for Chinese tire companies to the European and American markets. Under this strategy, Thailand’s exports of truck tires, light truck tires and passenger car tires to the United States in 2025 reached 42.3625 million, 8.5085 million and 7.1252 million respectively, far ahead of other export regions.
In addition to its proximity to the main natural rubber producing areas and lower labor costs, the Eastern Economic Corridor (including Chonburi, Rayong, Chachoengsao, etc.) also attracts tire companies to build factories here because of its developed automobile manufacturing industry.
V. Conclusion
Overseas production capacity layout has become the most important source of profit for Chinese tire companies. Thailand has advantages in sites, raw materials, labor, etc., and is very suitable for tire companies that have not yet deployed overseas production capacity. Overseas layout has become an important means of competition for future tire companies. Companies that have already deployed overseas factories have entered the profit period of overseas layout.
