The global replacement-tire business for passenger cars and commercial vehicles was Continental’s most important market segment in fiscal 2025, accounting for 53% of sales for continuing operations (PY: 52%). Because passenger cars and light commercial vehicles make up a considerably higher share of the replacement-tire market, their development is particularly important to our economic success.
With a 29% share of sales for continuing operations (PY: 30%), the automotive industry – with the exception of the replacement business – continued to be an important customer group for Continental.
The third-biggest market segment was the global business with industrial customers and spare parts from the ContiTech group sector, with around 18% of sales for continuing operations (PY: 18%).
Continental’s biggest sales region in the reporting year was again Europe, which accounted for 49% of sales (PY: 49%), followed by North America at 29% (PY: 30%) and Asia-Pacific at 16% (PY: 16%).
Development of replacement-tire markets for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles
The market volume for replacement tires for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles weighing less than 6 metric tons remained broadly stable overall, with only minor regional differences. In Europe, there was slight growth of around 1%. The decline in imports during the second half of the year was largely offset by higher imports in the first quarter of 2025. As a result, market development in Europe for the year as a whole was similar to the previous year. In North America, the market remained unchanged due to offsetting import and regional effects. China recorded moderate growth of around 1%, supported by a stronger second half of 2025. In all core markets, the trend toward larger tires in vehicle fleets continued. Worldwide, the replacement-tire market for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles weighing less than 6 metric tons grew by 1%.
Development of replacement-tire markets for medium and heavy commercial vehicles
In our core market of Europe (excluding Russia), demand for replacement tires for medium and heavy commercial vehicles weighing more than 6 metric tons rose slightly year-on-year in 2025, by 2%, with growth driven primarily by imports. In North America, demand rose by 6% year-on-year, supported both by imports and by structural offsetting effects in light of the weakening original equipment business.
Development of new passenger-car registrations
In 2025, the number of new passenger-car registrations remained stable overall or increased slightly across the major international automotive markets. Regional differences persisted, however, particularly in terms of registrations of electric vehicles as government subsidy programs continued to be modified or discontinued. The availability of many car models remained high compared with the previous year. Ongoing geopolitical tensions and continued consumer restraint nevertheless led to subdued demand in several core markets.
According to preliminary data from the German Association of the Automotive Industry (Verband der Automobilindustrie, VDA), 13.3 million new vehicles were registered in the European car market (EU27, EFTA and the United Kingdom) in 2025, around 2% more than in the previous year. In Germany, around 1% more cars were registered in 2025. New vehicle registrations were up slightly by around 2% in the USA and around 3% in Brazil and Japan.
In China – the world’s largest car market – the VDA recorded growth in 2025. The number of newly registered vehicles rose by almost 5% to 23.9 million units, slightly underperforming the growth of the Chinese economy as a whole. In India, sales of new vehicles were up 5% to 4.5 million units in 2025.
Development of production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles
Challenging economic conditions and a continued lack of planning certainty regarding regulatory requirements and government incentive programs affected demand for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles weighing less than 6 metric tons across the industry in 2025, dampening production. At the same time, many established automotive manufacturers were still ramping up new high-volume model series while older model lines were being phased out. This again particularly benefited newer manufacturers from Asia and North America, which were able to expand their market shares in dynamic segments.
According to preliminary data, Europe and North America both recorded a slight decline of 1% in the production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the reporting year. China increased its production by 10% in 2025.
According to preliminary figures, global production for 2025 rose by 4% to 92.4 million units.
Development of production of medium and heavy commercial vehicles
Production of medium and heavy commercial vehicles weighing more than 6 metric tons developed differently across our core markets in the period under review. In Europe, production volumes were unchanged from the previous year due to subdued economic development, continued cost pressures and a recovery in the second half of the year.
In North America, production figures declined significantly in the reporting year. Weaker demand, due to economic and regulatory uncertainties, and continued restrictive financing conditions weighed heavily on the market, causing production to fall by around 23% year-on-year.
Development of industrial production
In addition to vehicle production and the replacement business for the automotive industry, the development of various other industries is crucial to the success of our ContiTech group sector. Conti-Tech products are used in particular in equipment, machinery and vehicles for railway transport, mining, agriculture and other key industries. As well as the general development of gross domestic product, the development of industrial production is therefore regarded as an important indicator for ContiTech’s business with industrial customers.
In 2025, industrial production developed differently across the major economic regions. In the eurozone, industrial production improved year-on-year and returned to positive growth after a decline in 2024. In the USA as well, industrial production in 2025 was higher than in the previous year. In China, industrial production once again recorded significant growth.
| Changes to vehicle production, the replacement-tire business and industrial production in 2025 (compared with 2024) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars and light commercial vehicles | Replacement-tire business | Vehicle production | ||
| Europe | 1% | –1% | ||
| North America | 0% | –1% | ||
| China | 1% | 10% | ||
| Worldwide | 1% | 4% | ||
| Medium and heavy commercial vehicles | Replacement-tire business | Vehicle production | ||
| Europe | 2% | 0% | ||
| North America | 6% | –23% | ||
| Industrial production | ||||
| Eurozone | 1.5% | |||
| USA | 1.3% | |||
| China | 5.8% | |||
Preliminary data.
Sources:
Replacement-tire business: LMC International Ltd. (Europe with Western, Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) and Türkiye).
Vehicle production: S&P Global (Europe with Western, Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) and Türkiye).
Industrial production: Bloomberg.
