The accumulated amount of domestic semi-steel radial ply tyre output was 85 million in 2005, of which 70 percent were made by foreign-owned manufacturers with a 20 percent increase in production. Although domestic manufacturers accounted for nearly 80 percent of the all-steel radial ply tyre market, foreign-owned tyre makers are expected to hold more with an increase of over 50 percent, according to Professor Chen Zhihong with the Beijing Research and Design Institute of the Rubber Industry.

Multinationals comprise two thirds of domestic tyre manufacturers with an annual production capacity of one million, of which most provide aircraft and armored vehicle tyres for national defense use.

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The full text is available in the October Issue of AutoChina.

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