At the Remanufacturing and Safety Forum—organised by the British Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (BTMA) at Coombe Abbey, Coventry—commercial tyre industry expert Guy Heywood delivered a data-driven keynote examining the severe commercial crisis facing the UK tyre remanufacturing sector. Addressing an audience of tyre manufacturers, independent retreaders, and fleet service specialists, Heywood revealed that reliance on voluntary sustainability messaging has proven wholly insufficient against an influx of low-cost, single-use tyre imports.
Guy Heywood’s Keynote from the Remanufacturing and Safety Forum 2026 is live!
Watch the complete conference presentation above to review Guy Heywood’s comprehensive market data and the proposed policy roadmap for the British tyre remanufacturing industry.
Chapters:
0:00 Presentation Opening: BTMA Remanufacturing and Safety Forum
0:12 Guy Heywood: 30 Years of Industry Perspective and an Uncomfortable Reality
1:38 The Titanic Analogy: Industry Complacency and Unheeded Warnings
2:42 Domestic Manufacturing Decimated: The 45% UK Volume Collapse
3:27 Single-Use Tyre Import Surge: Post-2018 Tariff Market Shifts
4:30 Nearshore Production: Chinese-Owned European Manufacturing (Linglong, Kumho, Giti)
5:10 Why Communication Alone Has Failed: The Limits of Voluntary Fleet Messaging
7:21 The Market Reality: Free Retail Choice vs Contracted Fleet Policy
8:23 Fleet Economics: Saving 13% Total Cost of Ownership with a 45% Retread Strategy
10:25 Decarbonising Road Mobility: UK and European Fleet Projections to 2035
11:08 The Four Icebergs: Crippling Energy Costs, Low-Cost Imports, EUDR, and Labelling Delays
13:56 International Precedent: Evaluating Germany’s De-Minimis (US) Subsidy Scheme
15:20 European Policy Efforts: Trade Defence, Tariff Scope Expansion, and BIPAVER
16:08 Strategic Pillar 1: Organised Advocacy and Updating the 2016 EY Socio-Economic Study
17:19 Mandating Retread Tyre Fitment for Municipal and Large Commercial Fleets
18:27 Strategic Pillar 2: Introducing a UK De-Minimis Financial Incentive Scheme for Small Fleets
19:51 The Mauretania Model: Enduring Resilience Through Decisive Strategic Reform
20:46 Summary and Call for Collective Industry Action
