(Updated) Who sold, who stayed: Tire makers in and out of Russia

It's taken about 16 months, but the dust appears to have mostly settled for major tire makers with operations in Russia one year ago.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a global flashpoint that upended supply chains, forced manufacturing shutdowns, impacted energy availability and challenged companies to re-evaluate where and how they operate.

Determining a new path forward has taken time, but the tire industry appears to have found its footing with each company forging its path ahead.

Here's a look at which major tire makers sold Russian operations and who is looking to maintain them.

Continental A.G. continues the "controlled withdraw" of its ContiTech operations in Russia, but for now has closed the book on its tire manufacturing in the country. Because the Hanover, Germany-based tire maker found a buyer in S8 Capital and, in May, finalized the deal to divest operations and the plant in Kaluga, Russia.

The tire facility, which had a capacity for around 3 million passenger car tires, also produced air conditioning and power steering lines, as well as parts for air-suspension systems for the Russian market.

Continental employed around 1,100 at the Kaluga location.

Immediately following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Continental halted tire production in the country, but did partially resume production within a month, saying it did so to protect local workers. Tires produced at that time were aimed at the Russian market.

The French tire maker was among the first to condemn the attack on Ukraine and vowed to end its operations in Russia as a result.

Initially, Michelin said it would turn over operations of its Davydovo, Russia, facility to plant management, but the logistics of doing so did not unfold as anticipated. So, the tire maker sought a buyer.

In May, Michelin reached a deal to sell Michelin Russia Tyre Manufacturing Co. L.L.C. and Camso CIS L.L.C.—to Power International Tires L.L.C., one of the main tire distributors in the country. Financial details were not disclosed.

The Davydovo facility opened in 2004 and manufactured both passenger car and light truck tires. The facility has an annual capacity between 1.5 million and 2 million tires—mainly for passenger cars, Michelin said last year.

Overall, the plant accounted for about 1 percent of the company's global tire production.

When Nokian Tyres P.L.C. decided to end production in Russia, it made a company-redefining move.

Russia, after all, accounted for about 80 percent of the company's passenger car tire production. Moreover, Russia and Asia accounted for around 20 percent of Nokian's sales.

Still, Nokian left.

The tire maker, in October, reached an agreement to sell its operations to Russian synthetic rubber producer P.J.S.C. Tatneft. That deal, worth about $307 million, was finalized in March. And as it worked to cut ties with Russia, Nokian redefined its global footprint.

Meet the "new Nokian."

To help rebuild its capacity without the Russian facilities, Nokian rolled out a plan that involved expanded capacity and warehouse space at its plant in Dayton, Tenn. It also established third-party manufacturing agreements to help meet demand in the short term.

But the keystone to the "new Nokian" will be a $650 million plant in Romania, one that the tire maker boasts will be among the most sustainable tire plants in the world.

Nokian broke ground on its Romanian facility May 15.

Bridgestone, on Dec. 20, 2023, completed the sale of Russian assets to S8 Capital, a Russian diversified holding company, for undisclosed terms.

This came more than a year after it had placed a proverbial for sale sign on its car and light truck tire plant in Ulyanovsk, located about roughly 525 miles east of Moscow.

In June Bridgestone told European Rubber Journal it was making progress with its plans to pull out of Russia.

"The company is still firmly committed to exit," Bridgestone said in a written statement, adding that a deal was expected to close "in due course."

European media reports indicated that Bridgestone may have found a buyer in S8 Capital, the firm that recently took ownership of Continental's plant in Kaluga. Bridgestone, however, offered no comment on those sale speculations.

Bridgestone opened the Ulyanovsk plant in December 2016. Since then, the facility—with an annual capacity of 2.4 million units—has rolled out more than 5 million 13- to 19-inch passenger and light truck tires. Many of those tires are targeted as OE fitments.

Bridgestone suspended Russian operations at the plant in March 2022, citing the war in Ukraine as the reason for doing so.

For now, Pirelli Tyres P.L.C. continues to operate in Russia. The company, in March 2022, halted investments in the market that were not directly related to security.

But its operations are running.

In a call with investors in August 2022, Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman and CEO, noted that Pirelli had particularly strong connections in the Russian market.

Pirelli operates two plants in Russia.

The first, in Voronezh, produces premium passenger car tires for rim sizes ranging from 16-21 inches. These tires serve the Russian market only in part, Pirelli said on its website, noting that some of the tires are OE-bound fitments and others are exported to Europe, Scandinavia and CIS countries.

That plant has a potential capacity of around 2.3 million tires per year, according to the latest Global Tire Report data.

In Kirov, Pirelli took operational control of its facility in 2011 with its partner Rostec. There it manufactures Pirelli and Amtel tires in 13- to 16-inch rim sizes. The facility also supplies several car factories in Russia.

The latest Global Tire Report data puts the potential annual capacity of the Kirov plant in the 6 million tires range.

Pirelli noted that its Russian plants are among the most advanced. The Italian tire maker, after all, invested more than 200 million euros in its Russian operations in Voronezh and Kirov between 2012 and 2015. With the upgrades, Pirelli said, "old buildings (were) rebuilt, production workshops refurbished, new mixing facilities installed and Pirelli technology and processes introduced."

In all, Pirelli said it employs more than 3,200 in Russia—2,200 in Kirov and 1,023 in Voronezh.

Yokohama told European Rubber Journal in September that it resumed operations at its 10-year-old passenger tire plant in Lipetsk, Russia, after halting production in the country in March.

In a statement to ERJ, Yokohama said operations were suspended "due to problems in procuring raw materials. But (production) has now resumed as some of the raw materials have become available."

The Lipetsk factory, opened in 2012, operates under the Japanese tire maker's Yokohama RPZ L.L.C. subsidiary.

The facility employs about 560 and has the capacity for about 1.6 million tires annually, according to the latest Global Tire Report data.