Michelin, which has been associated with racing since its birth, got a head start at the CIIE. In late September 2023, an innovative product of Michelin, tires with 63% use of sustainable materials, was cleared by Shanghai Customs in "seconds" after rapid review, and became the first entry exhibit of the 6th CIIE. The green tire quickly became a star exhibit after making its Asian debut at the CIIE.

Demand leads innovation 46% in 2021, 53% in 2022, 63% in 2023...... As the proportion of sustainable materials continues to increase in CIIE after CIIE, Michelin's "CIIE story" is also constantly "updated". At the 7th CIIE, Michelin continued to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable materials and its ability to put breakthrough technologies into practice, once again showcasing its first product in Asia—a new tire with 71% sustainable materials.

Sustainable development is related to the long-term prosperity of human society and has become a global consensus and guide for action. Michelin has proposed that 100% of its tire products will be made from bio-based, renewable and recyclable materials by 2050.

Michelin's Mission H24 hydrogen energy race car with 46% sustainable material ratio tires at the 4th CIIE. [Photo/Michelin]

Since the successful development of pneumatic tires by Michelin in 1895, tires have always been a crucial link in the automotive industry chain. In recent years, electrification and intelligence have become emerging growth points in the automobile market, and the global sales of supporting tires have gradually recovered, with significant growth in the Chinese market. Sales of tires for passenger vehicles in China reached 132 million units in 2023, ranking first among major regions in the world.

With the continuous improvement of global automobile production requirements for tires, it is the general trend for tires to move toward high-end and green. Michelin sees a huge demand for high-quality development in the automotive industry in China.

China became the world's largest new car market in 2009, and is now a well-deserved car production and consumption power. According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's automobile production and sales have ranked first in the world for 15 consecutive years, with the annual production and sales reaching 30.161 million and 30.094 million units respectively in 2023. In the first eight months of 2024, 18.674 million and 18.766 million vehicles were produced and sold in China, respectively.

The continuous release of demand in China's super-large market has enabled enterprises including Michelin to accelerate their innovation track, or adjust their strategies or upgrade their products to meet the new market demand and achieve their own development.

Ye Fei, president and CEO of Michelin China, said that the current take-up rate of Michelin brand tires in the high-end new energy vehicle market is more than 30%.

"We want to explore new prospects for green development in China. With the platform effect of CIIE, enterprises can not only better display cutting-edge innovation achievements, but also build more diversified connections. Although Michelin has a high market share in the middle and high-end new energy vehicle market, it still needs to flexibly adjust production according to market and customer demand in order to keep pace with the rapid development of the current Chinese auto industry." Ye Fei said the annual CIIE is an important opportunity for companies to quickly obtain demand and feedback.

Competition stimulates innovation

Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is committed to improving the sustainable mobility of people and goods. Michelin (China) Investment Co., Ltd. was established in Shanghai in 2001 and now has nearly 7,000 employees and 3 factories in China.

For more than 100 years, Michelin has been adhering to the concept of "competition, in order to advance", and has never stopped chasing and innovating. In the "super show" of the CIIE, where leading enterprises in the industry compete together, 12 of the world's top 500 automobile companies, including Volkswagen, Toyota and Hyundai, and 3 leading automobile tire companies, including Michelin and Prometeon, compete for brilliance with new products. Michelin advocates the concept of "everything is sustainable", which is unique in these exhibits and leads the innovation frontier.

Michelin booth at the 6th CIIE. [Photo/Michelin]

At the 6th CIIE, Michelin arranged its booth into a "Michelin Track Paradise" of more than 500 square meters to show its diversified achievements in the process of sustainable development. In Ye Fei's view, sports events are more like real-world technology laboratories, playing a vital role in innovating sustainable solutions.

In 2024, Michelin participated in the CIIE for the fourth time. Under the theme of "Michelin Adventure", it displayed innovative technologies from road to sky and even space, so that the audience can see a Michelin that "innovation goes beyond the road". At the same time, Michelin debuted in Asia at the 7th CIIE "Lunar Rover without pneumatic tires", which can adapt to the extreme conditions on the moon. In China, Michelin wants to lead industry changes and reshape people's lives with locally tailored innovation, Ye Fei said.

Thanks to the CIIE, new products, technologies and services of many enterprises, including Michelin, have made their debut at the Four-leaf Clover and entered the Chinese market, driving China's industrial upgrading and consumption upgrading, contributing to high-quality development and providing more new opportunities for the world.

Collaboration for Innovation

At the CIIE, scenes of exhibitors collaborating and negotiating with business partners, shaking hands, and signing contracts are frequent, with each mutually beneficial agreement serving as a vivid testament to the concept of "win-win cooperation".

"Cooperation" is also the key word for Michelin to participate in the CIIE. Through the CIIE platform, Michelin gets closer to consumers and partners, and has the opportunity to obtain cooperation intentions from more surrounding enterprises in the industrial chain and ecosystem, thus reserving more resources for innovation.

"Participating in the CIIE will give us more opportunities to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with companies upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, explore sustainable development experience and technology with other companies, and jointly promote the industry to move towards a greener and more sustainable direction," Ye Fei said.

In previous CIIE, Michelin has reached a series of cooperation, including purchase orders, tire business, race business and other cooperation, so as to better understand the Chinese market and consumers.

The CIIE is a platform to promote dialogue and cooperation. Michelin, who is well aware that "communication brings cooperation", held seven dialogues on different topics at the 6th CIIE, inviting professionals from different fields to participate in discussions. In Ye Fei's view, "this kind of direct dialogue with global peers, government figures, experts, scholars and industry leaders is very rare".

Michelin booth at the 3rd CIIE. [Photo/Michelin]

An exhibition brings together the world and benefits the world. Looking ahead, CIIE will work with Michelin and other "old friends of CIIE" and more new partners to drive development through innovation, bring better life experience to people and contribute to sustainable development.

Fan Yubin

(Translated by Zhang Youchao)