BRAMPTON, Ontario — Turns out, even those consumers who have the means to purchase Tier 1 tire products at Tier 1 prices are looking for value, especially when it comes to replacing tires on electric vehicles (EVs).
In the nine months or so since Sailun Tire Americas (STA) debuted its ERange EV tire portfolio, sales have exceeded expectations, according to Ron Dolan, president of the North American subsidiary of China's Sailun Group Co. Ltd.
That goes for both Canada and the U.S., where the tires are distributed exclusively through TBC Corp.
"We have far surpassed what we thought we were going to do," Dolan told Tire Business.
He admits initial expectations were "modest" considering that Sailun, with a value-tier portfolio, was entering an emerging market, but Dolan said the tire maker is getting "a lot of reordering from our customers in Canada and from TBC. It's going well, and we're quite excited about."
The ERange portfolio covers 80% of the passenger/CUV/SUV market. In the next couple of years, the tire maker plans to roll out a light truck tire for transit/small-package delivery vehicles.