PIRELLI IN BRIEF
Founded in 1872, Pirelli is a company with deep Italian roots, a brand that is known around the world for its avantgarde technology, capacity for innovation and the quality of its products.
With 18 production plants in 12 Countries, a commercial presence in over 160 countries, about 31,100 employees and revenues of 6.7 billion euro (2023 figure), it is among the main producers worldwide of tyres and related services and the only one entirely dedicated to the Consumer market, which includes tyres for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles.
CAME FROM
HIGH-VALUE TYRES
CAME FROM
STANDARD TYRES
€ 6.7 Billion
revenues
~88%
of revenues
~12%
of revenues
Pirelli is a Pure Consumer Tyre Company, with a particular focus on the High Value tyre market and constantly engaged in the development of products made to achieve the highest levels in terms of performance, safety, noiselessness, and grip on the road surface. Innovative tyres that can satisfy even the most specific mobility needs of the end consumer.
Within the tyre industry, Pirelli competes with “Tier 1” producers, typified by high product quality, above average price positioning, a wide range of products and dedicated regional lines. Among these players, Pirelli stands out for its exclusive positioning in the Pure Consumer Tyre, segment, and with a particular focus on High Value, which represented about 75% of the group’s 2023 revenues. In the context of High Value tyres, it holds a position of leadership in the Prestige segment, with a market share of over 50% in the Original Equipment channel.
Always attentive to environmental and social themes, Pirelli, the first tyre sector company to have set itself the goal of achieving Net Zero by 2040, has equipped itself with a sustainability model inspired by the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact, to the requirements of AA1000 standard for stakeholder engagement and the ISO 26000 Guidelines.
1More specifically, the High Value segment includes:
(I) car tyres which have a rim size of 18 inches or more;
(II) car tyres, so-called Specialties and Super Specialties, which respond to specific client needs: Run FlatTM, Seal InsideTM, PNCSTM, ElectTM, Pirelli CyberTM, Racing, Collezione, regardless of rim size;
(III) radial motorcycle tyres, so called Premium; racing motorcycle tyres, custom touring and with speed index ≥H tyres (off road and sport touring segments).
Products Portfolio
A HIGH VALUE RANGE
OF CONSUMER TYRES
Over the years, Pirelli has concentrated above all on the development, production, and marketing of tyres with high added value, which have special characteristics associated with high level performance, advanced technology, and safety and, on average, bigger rim sizes. Recognized by consumers for its high value products, the Pirelli range includes innovative tyres for cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, as well as a growing portfolio of tyres to meet the requirements of specific applications or consumer personalization. These include the Pirelli CyberTM Tyre system, the result of years of research and technological innovation that, thanks to the sensors inside the tyre (the only part of the car able to “sense” the conditions of the road being traveled) contributes to making essential information available to enhance vehicle driving performance and safety.
In addition to connectivity, the new tyre era brings greater attention to the environment. Pirelli continues, on the one hand, to invest in Research & Development to introduce new materials to replace those of fossil origin – with the goal of having the first tyre containing 100% bio-based and recycled materials by 2040 – and, on the other, to provide that the origins, traceability, and use of these materials are certified by third parties. In 2021, in fact, the company began its journey towards the manufacture of tyres containing FSCTM (Forest Stewardship CouncilTM) certified natural rubber and foresees that by 2026 it will use only FSCTM certified natural rubber in all its European factories2.
In its modernized plant at Milano-Bollate, since March 2022 Pirelli has been producing cycling tyres, the only factory to produce “Made in Italy “ bicycle tyres on an industrial scale. The plant is, in fact, dedicated to the production of tyres of high technological content, for both amateurs and professional.
Attention to the client begins from the product development phase. For High Value products, that takes place through consolidated partnerships with the most prestigious Car and Motorcycle makers, and in the Cycling world with the principle cycling teams of the high UCI categories. These collaborations allow Pirelli to develop tyres that match the characteristics of the cars for which they are designed, made-to-measure solutions able to satisfy the specific needs of the most demanding consumers.
2 The natural rubber in Pirelli car tyres accounts for about 15% of total tyre weight.
Racing
ALL THE MOTORSPORT TECHNOLOGY
IN CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Pirelli’s technological excellence also stems from the innovation and skills developed through motorsports, where the company has been active for over 115 years. At present Pirelli is involved in over 350 car and motorcycle championships and, since 2011, it has been the exclusive supplier to the Formula 1© World Championship and will be its Global Tyre Partner through to the end of the 2027 season. Beginning from 2024, all the tyres used in the FIA Formula One World ChampionshipTM contain natural rubber that is FSCTM certified – a testament to Pirelli’s commitment to the responsible management of the natural rubber supply chain also in motorsport.
In the 2021 season, Pirelli was also chosen by FIA – Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – as the sole supplier to the World Rally Championship, a competition that has led to the development of important Specialties for Pirelli which were then also applied to road tyres. The technological evolution of the 2022 season was particularly noteworthy as it saw the introduction of new hybrid engines for the WRC cars, which led to the development of an entire dedicated range of tyres to deal with the extra weight and greater power of the WRC1 vehicles. In addition, Pirelli is also present in the principal world competitions for GT cars, including the GT World Challenge series for which it is the exclusive supplier and where the most prestigious marques compete.
In 2024 Pirelli became the exclusive supplier of tyres to the Moto2 and Moto3 categories of the Motomondiale. The company also continues in the role of Official Tyre Supplier for all classes of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The technical partnership, launched in 2004, boasts the longest lasting single tyre championship in the history of motorsports at the international level and has been continuously supported by intense Research & Development activity. In Motocross, Pirelli has won 81 world titles, including world titles in the three maximum classes: MXGP, MX2 and WMX (the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship).
Drawing on its experience with racing motorcycles, Pirelli develops its road range according to the “We sell what we race, we race what we sell” philosophy. Its extensive presence in sporting competitions generates avantgarde solutions which are transferred to the Consumer ranges, guaranteeing the maximum levels of performance and safety.
In cycling, Pirelli has since 2023 supplied MTB tyres to the members of the TREK Factory Racing Team. The agreement, lasting 3 years, accompanies the collaboration launched in 2020 with the World Tour Team Lidl-TREK.
Research & development
CAPACITY FOR CONTINUOUS
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
All this is made possible by a deep commitment to Research & Development which is conducted in a total “Open Innovation” model that involves external partners – suppliers, universities, and car makers themselves – with the aim of anticipating the sector’s technological innovations to meet the needs of the end consumer. In 2023 Pirelli invested 5.4% of its High Value revenues in Research & Development for High Value products and counts around 2,100 R&D staff, working at its Milan headquarters and 12 local technology centers, as well as a total portfolio of 6,000 patents. The Digital Solutions Center in Bari continues to grow. Inaugurated in 2022, the center develops software and algorithms for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence and today supports various company functions, developing new digital services for the Tyre world. Pirelli has also stipulated R&D cooperation agreements with suppliers, universities, and car makers, with many University projects underway, alongside collaborations with suppliers and Premium Car Makers in the field of innovative technology. In 2023, the university “R&D Excellence Next” second level masters concluded. Conceived by Pirelli in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnic, the program involved 34 young engineers, recently hired by the company, and trained them in specialist areas.
Operations
GLOBAL PRODUCTION
AND SALES STRUCTURE
FOCUSED ON HIGH VALUE
To produce goods of the highest quality, Pirelli demands excellence along its entire value chain. At present, the Company counts:
- 18 production plants located in 12 Countries, with a production capacity of around 74 million car tyres (at end 2022)
- a distribution network in over 160 Countries (around 20,000 points of sale at end 2023), an extensive, growing network that brings Pirelli ever closer to its customers.
People
OUR PEOPLE,
A DIVERSE SET OF TALENTS
Pirelli’s strength resides in its people who come from different Countries and with a variety of skills. This diversity is encouraged by Pirelli, which values excellence and attracts and develops young talent. To enable its roughly 31,100 employees to fully realize their potential, Pirelli continually provides training programs, with an average of 7.4 training days per person in 2023, promoting inter-functional collaboration, guaranteeing the exchange of practical and theoretical competencies between the different Countries, and supporting the introduction of the most highly evolved company procedures.
To further strengthen the central concerns of health and safety, the company supports the wellbeing of its people committing itself to offer an inclusive workplace, moments of active listening and welfare programs aimed at favoring a healthy work-life balance and parenting.
Brand
A powerful BRAND,
Beyond tyres
The Pirelli brand is considered at the international level an icon of technology, tastefulness and Italian excellence, a synonym for safety and reliability. Represented for over a century by the unmistakable “Long P”, the Pirelli brand is associated with a style that is exclusive, luxurious, and innovative, thus reinforcing its distinctive position as a supplier to luxury car makers. The brand’s reputation and strength are being constantly enhanced through involvement in sporting events and competitions, cultural and artistic projects, and initiatives to benefit local communities.
Pirelli continues with its commitment to sports that are in line with the Prestige and high-performance positioning that characterizes the Company and its products. This explains the partnerships launched in 2018 with Luna Rossa, which in 2024 will participate in the 37th America’s Cup to be held in Barcelona and which in 2023 competed in the preliminary regattas in September in Vilanova, Spain and at the end of November/beginning of December in Gedda, Saudi Arabia. To this, Pirelli has also added the sponsorship of the navigator Ambrogio Beccaria and his boat Alla Grande Pirelli, which in November 2023 won the Transat Jacques Vabres ocean regatta, also known as the Route du Café, from Le Havre to Martinique, and in 2024 the Transat CIC, from Lorient to New York.
In addition, Pirelli has consolidated its sponsorship of FC Internazionale Milano, as Global Tyre Partner since the 2021-2022 season, after 26 years on the black-and-blue jersey that in January 2023 won the Supercoppa Italiana and in May the Coppa Italia; as well as the renewed partnership with the Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali (Italian federations of winter sports) and the Coppa del Mondo di Sci Alpino (World Cup of Alpine skiing) from the 2023/24 season (Val Gardena leg in December 2023 and Cortina d’Ampezzo in January 2024).
KEY SUSTAINABILITY RESULTS AND AWARDS
The commitment to creating sustainable value that typifies Pirelli’s responsible management and its economic, social, and environmental performance, have allowed the company to achieve some significant results in 2023 and to be included in some of the most prestigious sustainability stock market indices at the international level.
Among the principal achievements, in 2023 Pirelli was confirmed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe Indices in the context of the annual review of the indices conducted by S&P Global. The confirmation from the announcement of the Company obtaining the maximum score in Auto Components and Automotive sectors in the context of the S&P Global’s 2023 Corporate Sustainability, with a score of 84 points.
In the same month, Pirelli was confirmed, for the sixth year in a row, a global leader in the fight against climate change obtaining a place in the 2023 Climate A list 2023 prepared by CDP, the international non-profit organization that gathers, disseminated, and promotes information on environmental issues.
Last Revised: 14 Sep 2017