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Dunlop Tyres

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This article is about the tyre brand. For the manufacturer of musical accessories, see Dunlop Manufacturing.

Dunlop Tyres
Dunlop sport tyres
Product typeTyres
Owner
Introduced18 November 1888; 136 years ago (1888-11-18)
MarketsWorldwide
Websitewww.dunloptires.com Edit this at Wikidata

Dunlop Tyres is a brand of tyres, currently owned by the Japanese company Sumitomo Rubber Industries.[1] It was founded by pneumatic tyre pioneer John Boyd Dunlop in Belfast, Ireland, in 1888.[3]

It is one of several largely unrelated companies that use the Dunlop brand under licence, most of which historically evolved from Dunlop Rubber in some way.

The brand was formerly operated by Goodyear[4] in North America (passenger car & light truck), Europe, Australia and New Zealand.[5]

On October 1, 2015, Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired the Dunlop motorcycle tyre brand in North America from Goodyear after dissolving its 16-year global joint venture.[6] On 7 January 2025, Goodyear announced the sale of the rest of its Dunlop brand activities (with the exception of motorcycle business in Europe) to SRI.[7]

In India, the brand was operated by Dunlop India Ltd. (having started its business there in 1926, owned by the Ruia Group).[8] In several other Asian countries (such as Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia), South Africa and Latin America (except Mexico), Dunlop Tires is operated by Sumitomo.[9][10] In Malaysia, the Dunlop Tyre brand has, since 2012, been operated by Continental AG, which manufactures Dunlop branded tyres for sale in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.[2]

Overview

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In 1985, the Dunlop Rubber Company was acquired by now-defunct BTR plc, and Sumitomo acquired the rights to manufacture and market Dunlop branded road tyres. Sumitomo did not acquire any Dunlop company. In 1997 Sumitomo gained agreement to use the Dunlop name in its corporate name, and changed the name of its UK subsidiary to "Dunlop Tyres Ltd."

In 1999, Sumitomo and Goodyear began a joint venture by which Sumitomo continued to manufacture all Japanese-made tyres under the Dunlop name, while Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company bought 75% of the European and North American tyre businesses of Sumitomo.[11]

The company has extensive manufacturing operations throughout the world. With the closure of the Washington plant in 2006, Goodyear Dunlop ceased mainstream car and lorry tyre production in the UK.[12]

In 2016, it was announced that Sumitomo would commence the second phase of its US$131 million investment for the upgrade and expansion of its Dunlop tyre manufacturing plant in Ladysmith, South Africa.[13]

Until May 2014, Goodyear Dunlop occupied a compact part of the Fort Dunlop site in Birmingham as its UK office. In the UK, the company operates as a sales organisation, importing tyres from manufacturing plants around the world, including Germany, Slovenia and Poland.

The Goodyear Dunlop joint venture is managed from sites in Luxembourg and Brussels, which report to Goodyear in Akron, Ohio, United States.

Fort Dunlop

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Fort Dunlop was a motorsport manufacturing operation located in a corner of the original Dunlop factory in Erdington, Birmingham, established in 1891 until May 2014. This factory produced specialised vintage, motorcycle and touring car tyres, and produced about 300,000 specialised racing tyres per year. On 30 May 2014, the Birmingham factory ceased tyre production, ending Dunlop motorsport tyre production in the UK.[12]

Motorsport

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Dunlop Tyres is the official tyre supplier of the Supercars Championship.

Dunlop Tyres currently supply tires to the Supercars Championship and Super2 Series, the latter of which Dunlop also serves as the series title sponsor.[14][15] The company also supplies tyres to select racing teams in the Super GT series in both GT500 and GT300 classes.[16][17] Dunlop Tyres is also involved in major endurance races, including the Nürburgring 24 Hours, supplying as many as 4,000 tyres to participating racing teams.[18]

Dunlop Tyres was also a major tyre supplier in the Group C sports prototype and early Group GT1 eras, and have previously won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall and in class with Dunlop-shod sports cars.[19]

The company is one of three tyre suppliers of the FIM Endurance World Championship.[20]

On 20 September 2025, Dunlop Tyres entered the sim racing scene for the first time, as they became the official tyre partner for Gran Turismo 7 and its respective esports tournament, the Gran Turismo World Series.[21][22][23]

See also

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Further reading

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  • Tompkins, Eric (1981). The History of the Pneumatic Tyre. Dunlop Archive Project. ISBN 0-903214-14-8.

Notes

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  1. ^ Motorcycle tyres, in Europe only

References

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  1. ^ a b Kaur, Gursimran (8 January 2025). "Tire maker Goodyear to sell Dunlop brand to Japan's Sumitomo Rubber for $701 mln". Reuters. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b "About". Dunlop Tyres Malaysia. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Our Heritage". Dunlop Tyres. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Limited v The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company [2018] FCA 1014 (11 July 2018)". Selfmark, Trademark Attorneys and Copyright Lawyers Australia. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Dunlop Info". Dunlop Tires. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  6. ^ Bennett, Jeff (1 October 2015). "Goodyear, Sumitomo Dissolve Global Alliance". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Goodyear Announces Sale of Dunlop Brand to Sumitomo Rubber Industries". Media | Goodyear Corporate. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  8. ^ "About us - The journey of Dunlop in India". Dunlop India. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Brands". Sumitomo. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Apollo Tyres sells South African business to Sumitomo Rubber for Rs 340 crore". The Economic Times. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  11. ^ Quarterly report under section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, for the quarterly period ended June 30, 1999 (Report). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. p. 28. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017.
  12. ^ a b Brown, John Murray; Foy, Henry (18 March 2014). "Dunlop plant closure announcement branded cynical". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  13. ^ "SRI Group". www.srigroup.co.za. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Dunlop | Supercars". www.supercars.com. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Dunlop extend tyre deal until 2024". TouringCarTimes. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  16. ^ Klein, Jamie (26 March 2025). "Dunlop Feels Breakthrough Close After Strong Testing Form". Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  17. ^ Klein, Jamie (6 February 2025). "PONOS Ferrari Makes First Outing on Dunlop Tires". Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  18. ^ "Dunlop takes on the toughest race in the world – the Nürburgring 24 Hours". Goodyear. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  19. ^ "24 Hours Centenary – Michelin and Dunlop's monopoly". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  20. ^ "EWC's long-term Dunlop partnership continues and expands | FIM Endurance World Championship". www.fimewc.com. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  21. ^ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (20 September 2025). "Gran Turismo and Dunlop partner to improve tyre simulation". Traxion.GG. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  22. ^ "DUNLOP Announced as Official Tire Partner of the Gran Turismo World Series and Gran Turismo 7 - Gran Turismo® 7". gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  23. ^ "Gran Turismo 7 Gets Real: Dunlop Tires Power the GT World Series and Your Next Lap". MotorTrend. 21 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
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