Linglong Tire has presented an 85% sustainable materials concept tyre at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development annual meeting in Montreux, Switzerland. The Chinese manufacturer used the event to outline its carbon targets, materials roadmap and WBCSD membership, as tyre makers face growing pressure to reduce fossil-derived inputs and strengthen circular supply chains.
The tyre contains more than 60% bio-based renewable materials and about 25% recycled materials, according to Linglong. The company said the material package includes rice husk ash silica and bio-based rubber, used to replace some conventional petroleum-derived ingredients.
Linglong also said the concept tyre meets the EU tyre label’s highest “A” rating for rolling resistance and wet braking. For fleets, retailers and original equipment customers, that claim matters because sustainable content must still meet safety, efficiency and performance requirements before it can move beyond prototype status.
President Zhou Lingkun told delegates that sustainable development had become a mandatory business task under global carbon reduction goals. He said the 85% sustainable materials tyre should be seen as a “new starting point”, with Linglong targeting a 100% sustainable materials tyre by 2040.
Linglong said it has set a 52.07% carbon reduction target by 2035 and aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. During the Montreux meeting, the company was also presented with its WBCSD membership certificate. The WBCSD annual meeting was scheduled in Montreux from 27 to 30 April 2026.
The company has also linked its sustainability programme to natural rubber sourcing. Linglong says it was the first tyre manufacturer in mainland China to join the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber, and that it supports FSC-certified natural rubber projects.
The announcement places Linglong among a wider group of manufacturers trying to raise renewable and recycled content without weakening tyre performance. Tyre News has previously reported on Giti Tire’s 93% sustainable materials prototype tyre, which combined renewable and recycled inputs, and Continental’s plan to lift renewable and recycled materials in tyre production.
The recycling element is also commercially important. Recovered carbon black, pyrolysis oil and other end-of-life tyre outputs are becoming more visible in tyre manufacturing roadmaps. Recent Tyre News coverage of Michelin’s use of recovered carbon black in Le Mans tyres and Niutech’s 100,000-tonne pyrolysis expansion in Shandong shows how materials recovery is moving closer to mainstream tyre production.
Linglong’s latest concept does not by itself prove near-term mass production. It does, however, signal how Chinese tyre manufacturers are entering the same materials race as European, Japanese and global rivals. The next test will be whether such compounds can be scaled through certified supply chains, audited carbon data and repeatable plant-level production.
Tagged with: Linglong Tire, sustainable tyre materials, concept tyre, WBCSD, circular economy, recovered carbon black, bio-based rubber, rice husk silica, tyre recycling, net zero tyres, natural rubber, tyre sustainability
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