How many tires are sold each year?

An estimated 1.72 billion tires were shipped and sold around the world in 2015. The European and Asia-Pacific sales markets account for about 65 percent of all tires sold, followed by the North American market, and then by emerging markets in areas such as India, China and Latin America.

Tire sales can be roughly divided into original equipment tires, or those installed on the vehicle when it is first manufactured, and replacement tires, which are installed when OE tires wear out. The sale of replacement tires is much higher than that of OE tires. Replacement tire sales tend to be better able to weather the ups and downs of supply and demand than OE tires.