Automotive majors ‘certify’ Linglong’s European tire plant

Hanover, Germany – Linglong has announced that its tire plant in Zrenjanin, northern Serbia has recently been 'certified' by a number of major automotive manufacturers.

Over the past few months, Nissan, VW, Audi, Ford, Stellantis, Hyundai and Kia as well as truck maker MAN have granted approvals for the unit, Linglong said 27 May.

The OEMs have also approved the factory for the production of OE tires for their respective vehicles, according to the Chinese manufacturer.

Linglong's first European tire plant is designed to manufacture tires for OE and replacement markets in the passenger-car and truck segments.

An hour's drive from Belgrade, the unit has been producing tires for cars, trucks and OTR vehicles since 2023, according to the statement.

The €860-million plant is slated to produce 13.62 million radial tires/year: 12 million units of passenger car tires; 1.6 million units of truck and bus tires; and 20,000 off-the-road tires.

The certifications from OE customers ‘confirms’ Linglong’s decision to build a factory in Europe, said Michael Beverin, director, European OE and quality at Linglong Tire Germany.

The factory, stated Beverin, is “one of the most modern and environmentally friendly” tire factories in the world, and provides “significantly shorter logistics chains to our European customers”.

“Our goal is to supply all of our original equipment customers’ European factories with European-made tires in the medium term,” the Linglong official added.