Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Borsa Italiana since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyres for cars, motorcycles and bicycles. It is present in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America and the Post-Soviet states, operating commercially in over 160 countries. It has 19 manufacturing sites in 13 countries and a network of around 14,600 distributors and retailers. In 2015, China National Chemical Corp. Ltd. (ChemChina) took controlling interest of Pirelli; with the Chinese state-owned company agreeing to maintain the tyre company's ownership structure until 2023.
Michelin, in full Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA, is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Continental. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the Kléber tyres company, Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company, SASCAR, Bookatable and Camso brands. Michelin is also notable for its Red and Green travel guides, its roadmaps, the Michelin stars that the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, and for its company mascot Bibendum, colloquially known as the Michelin Man, who is a humanoid consisting of tyres.
Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi (石橋), meaning 'stone bridge' in Japanese. It primarily manufactures tires, as well as golf equipment.
Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories operating approximately 1,200 stores across the United States.
Kymco is a Taiwanese motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. With approximately 3000 employees, Kymco produces over 570,000 vehicles annually at its factory in Kaohsiung. The company also has production facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia, and PR China.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 60 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical, and design facilities within its worldwide family of subsidiary companies, including the UK-based Avon Tyres brand, which produces tires for motorcycles, road cars, and race cars.
MRF or MRF Tyres, is an Indian multinational tyre manufacturing company and the largest manufacturer of tyres in India. It is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The word MRF comes from the company's initial days when it was called as Madras Rubber Factory. The company manufactures rubber products including tyres, treads, tubes and conveyor belts, paints and toys. MRF also runs the MRF Pace Foundation, Chennai and MIDD – MRF Institute of Driver Development in Chennai. MRF Limited has emerged as the world's second-strongest tyre maker, with a AAA− brand grade.
Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd., also known simply as Hankook, is a South Korean tire company based in Seoul. It is the seventh largest tire company in the world.
Nokian Tyres plc, headquartered in Nokia, Finland, produces tyres for cars, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty equipment. Known for its winter tyres, Nokian is the only tyre manufacturer in the world with its own permanent winter tyre testing facility. The company's Hakkapeliitta brand name is recognised in Finland as a trademark.
The Yokohama Rubber Company, Limited is a tire and rim manufacturing company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded and began on October 13, 1917, in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969, the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation.
MOMO Srl is a design company headquartered in Milan, Italy that makes accessories and parts for automobiles, such as alloy wheels, tires, steering wheels, seats, gear sticks. The company also has a clothing line of products that include racing suits, gloves, and shoes.
BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG is a high-performance automobile wheel design company headquartered in Schiltach, Germany. BBS produces wheels for motorsport, OEM, and aftermarket applications. The company is often credited as pioneering the three-piece wheel and advancing the aluminum wheel industry over many decades, and remains one of the largest producers of automobile wheels in the world. It is a part of KW Automotive since 2021.
Showa is a brand of high-performance automotive, motorcycle and outboard suspension systems of Hitachi Astemo, based in Gyoda, Saitama in Japan.
Falken Tire is a brand of passenger car, light truck, and medium truck tires owned by the Japanese company Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI). It was launched in its native country of Japan in 1983, and was introduced to the North American market two years later and in Europe in 1988. Falken has now become a stand-alone brand that focuses on UHP products while utilizing professional motorsports to further develop and improve products for worldwide distribution.
CUSCO is a Japanese automotive parts company, specializing in car suspension parts. They are most famous for their coilover suspensions, and are a large presence in the Japanese automotive aftermarket in the domestic Japanese market and around the globe.
Federal Corporation is a Taiwan-based tire manufacturer, headquartered in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City Taiwan. Today, it operates under the name of Federal Group which includes marketing, real estate divisions, and two tire manufacturing plants: original plant in Zhongli, Taiwan and 100% owned plant in China, Jiangxi, Nanchang.
Hiromu Naruse was the Japanese chief test driver and chief test engineer of Toyota Motor Corporation and chief of the Gazoo Racing team. Naruse had been a test driver for the Toyota team for 47 years (1963–2010). He was also noted as the chief test driver of the Lexus LFA supercar. During his time at Toyota, Naruse became known by the nickname "Meister", and colleagues at Ferrari called him the "man who knows all the world's roads." Naruse also logged more hours at the Nürburgring test track in Germany than any other Japanese driver.
Schubert Motorsport is a private motorsport team founded and owned by team principal and European Autocross champion Torsten Schubert, and headquartered in Oschersleben, Germany. The team has operated as a BMW privateer since its inception in 1999, with plenty of success, and has specialised in endurance racing since 2004. Although it is closely related to contract BMW associate Schubert Motors GmbH, also owned by Torsten Schubert, they are separate entities.
In motorsports, a tire war occurs when more than one manufacturer provides tires for a motorsports series. Historically, tire wars have occurred in many high-level series, such as Formula One, NASCAR, Super GT, and MotoGP.
KW Automotive GmbH is a German company that primarily develops suspension systems for the automotive and motorsport industries.
