Expansion by large tyre companies of their own capabilities through the acquisition of lesser-known brands was especially popular in the 90s of the twentieth century. Subsidiaries only benefited from this – not only did the leading manufacturers install modern equipment at their factories, they also shared their own developments regarding production technology and materials, and also began to attract their best specialists to develop new products.

Except for the actual price of tyres, sub-brand products are practically no different from products of the original brands similar in class. Moreover, there is often a situation when tyres under the name of a major brand and a subsidiary are produced almost on the same conveyor of a tyre plant. But what is obvious is the difference in cost – marketing praises the capabilities and achievements of the main brand, but often is silent about the fact that no less scrupulous requirements are put forward for the sub-brand to control the quality of products. Accordingly, tyres from subsidiaries can offer almost identical performance, while having a more affordable price tag.

To make it easier to navigate, the list of sub-brands is presented in alphabetical order, broken down by region of origin of the leading tyre manufacturers: Europe, USA, Japan and South Korea.

Europe

Continental

Under the wing of the Continental AG concern, headquartered in Hannover, Germany, a good dozen of subsidiaries successfully operate, producing tyres for all types of vehicles (from motorcycles to large-sized agricultural machinery). Tyres from the German brand and all its sub-brands is characterized by a high safety and predictable behavior on the road. The production facilities of Continental AG are located throughout the planet – from the USA to Australia.

The most widely known among the sub-brands of the German manufacturer are the Czech brand Barum, the Swedish Gislaved and the Slovak Matador:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Barum Czech Republic, Germany, France, Austria, Slovakia
Blackstone European plants of the Continental company, Australia
General USA
Gislaved Sweden
Mabor Portugal
Matador Slovakia, Germany, Russia, Ethiopia
Semperit Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, France
SPORTIVA Czech Republic
Uniroyal (Europe) Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Czech Republic
Viking European plants of the Continental company

Interesting fact. Among the sub-brands of the German company, the Uniroyal brand occupies a special place – in fact, it is a subsidiary of Michelin, but in Europe Continental AG has the rights to use it. This is explained by the fact that the European branch of Uniroyal was taken over by Continental in 1979 – 11 years earlier than the sale of the main division of Uniroyal to the French brand Michelin (1990).
Continental Tyres

Michelin

The French company Michelin began its path to the top of the tyre world with the production of bicycle tyres. After a century and a half of its history, the brand owns factories in 15 countries of the world, as well as its own research and design centers in France, Japan and the USA, where highly qualified engineers develop and implement new technologies. This applies not only to the main brand, but also to its subsidiaries, a list of which is presented in the table:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
BF Goodrich England, USA, Russia, Romania
Kleber France, Czech Republic, Romania
Kormoran Poland, Hungary, Romania
Riken France, Japan, USA
Taurus Serbia
Tigar Serbia
Uniroyal (USA) USA, Canada

In addition to the sub-brands listed above, Michelin also owns Pneu Laurent, Tyremaster and Wolber.

Michelin tyres

Pirelli

Pirelli gained its initial fame thanks to the production of bicycle tyres in the second half of the 19th century. At the present time, its factories are successfully operating in 13 countries located on 4 continents. The vast majority of Pirelli tyres enter the market under their own brand. But not always – two more sub-brands comfortably nestled under the wing of the Italian manufacturer:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Ceat Turkey, India
Formula Pirelli factories

And if Ceat tyres are more common in India and Turkey (at the location of the factories), then Formula tyres are a low-cost alternative to the original brand in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Pirelli tyres

Japan

Bridgestone

One of the world's leading tyre manufacturers has settled in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Bridgestone products are renowned for their high quality and excellent traction in all weather conditions. Tyres of subsidiaries also keep up with the main brand:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Dayton USA, Canada, Spain, Poland
FIRESTONE Bridgestone factories
Lassa Turkey
Nokian Finland, Russia, Kazakhstan
Achilles (Nokian) Indonesia
Nordman (Nokian) Finland, Russia

The Finnish company Nokian occupies a special position among Bridgestone sub-brands – the parent company holds the largest stake in the Scandinavian brand, but in fact Nokian has its own management system. The Japanese brand provides all possible assistance in the development and testing of products, as well as the introduction of new production technologies. In turn, Nokian owns two more subsidiaries: Achilles and Nordman.

Reference. Nokian tyres are well known for their good cold weather performance.
Bridgestone tyres

Toyo

The history of the Toyo brand dates back to the end of World War II, when two companies engaged in the manufacture of various rubber products, Hirano Rubber Manufacturing Inc. and Toyo Tyre & Rubber Co. merged. For 70 years of activity, the manufacturer has earned great prestige – its products are presented in more than a hundred countries around the world. It includes tyres produced under the brand name of two subsidiary brands:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Nito USA, Japan
SilverStone Malaysia

Toyo tyres

USA

Goodyear

Tyres with the Goodyear logo can be found on a wide variety of vehicles – from motorcycles to aircraft. They are distinguished by increased strength and high reliability. These words also apply to the sub-brands of the American company, which have one of the best price-quality ratios:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Debica Poland
Dunlop Germany, France, England, USA, Japan
Falken Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan
Fulda Germany, France, Slovenia, Poland
Kelly USA, European factories of the Sumimoto
Sava Slovenia

All Goodyear subsidiaries (except, perhaps, the Sava brand) have a big name that is familiar to almost every car owner. A large number of positive reviews from real owners of car tyres confirms the excellent work of all, without exception, divisions of the American ture industry giant.

Goodyear tyres

Cooper

Cooper tyres can be found on both cars and trucks. A distinctive feature of Cooper tyres is their affordable cost with a sufficiently high mileage resource, which is achieved by careful quality control of the products.

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Avon USA, England
Dean USA
Mastercraft USA, Australia
Mentor Serbia
Roadmaster China
Starfire Serbia

The purchase of sub-brand products from an American manufacturer will allow you to save even more money without compromising the safety of driving.

Cooper tyres

South Korea

Hankook

The name of the South Korean company Hankook is always found in the list of top tyre brands. A wide variety of tyres are available to satisfy the tastes of almost any driver. Also at the service of buyers are subsidiaries that expand the already large fleet of manufactured products with their models:

Sub-brand name Production facilities
Aurora South Korea
Kingstar China
Laufenn China

Hankook tyres

Kumho

Another South Korean brand, Kumho, became popular at the dawn of the 60s of the twentieth century, after entering into cooperation with the well-known tyre manufacturer Uniroyal(then an independent company). The Americans shared new tyre production technologies with Japanese engineers, which made it possible to bring Kumho products to a higher quality level. Now the South Korean company occupies a leading position in the world market and owns one sub-brand – the Marshal company:

Sub brand name Production facilities
Marshal South Korea, China

Products of the Marshal brand are focused purely on the European market and are rare in other regions. To the European consumer, it offers excellent performance, endurance and reliability.

Kumho tyres

Good luck with your choice!