I Wrote About Digital Transformation in Tyres in 2017. Here’s What Actually Happened.
By Tjeerd Prenger
In April 2017, I published an article on LinkedIn arguing that digital transformation would become the defining competitive advantage in tyre distribution. Nearly a decade later, it’s worth looking at what I got right, what surprised me, and where the real opportunity turned out to be.
The original thesis was straightforward: tyres have become commoditised. Hundreds of manufacturers compete primarily on price. Incremental product innovation no longer creates meaningful differentiation. The winners would be those who controlled the route to market and owned the direct customer relationship.
That thesis has held up. What changed is where the real transformation is happening — and it’s not where most people expected.
The predictions
China was already ahead — and the gap widened
In 2017, I pointed to Tuhu and Alibaba’s Tmall as examples of Chinese platforms that had already cracked the tyre eCommerce model. Western markets were nowhere close.
Since then, Tuhu went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and now generates nearly $2 billion in annual revenue. Its franchise network of roughly 6,000 stores is equivalent to every tyre point of sale in the UK — just one player in one market. Online tyre retail penetration in China has reached 40-45% in some segments, compared to under 15% in Europe. The lesson wasn’t just about technology — it was about willingness to rethink the entire value chain rather than digitising the edges of an analogue process.
Manufacturers did move toward direct-to-consumer
I wrote that manufacturers who managed to sell directly to customers would capture more value. Michelin doubled down — their investments in Allopneus and Blackcircles became the foundation of a genuine direct-to-consumer channel. Bridgestone expanded TireConnect. Continental, Hankook, and others invested in digital tools across their networks.
But here’s what’s interesting: the manufacturers that moved fastest didn’t bypass their dealer networks. They built digital tools to strengthen them. The winning strategy isn’t disintermediation — it’s enabling dealers to compete digitally while maintaining the manufacturer relationship. That said, most of these tools still focus on the supply chain and the transaction. There’s much more that could be done at the workshop level — where the actual customer relationship lives.
Existing distribution networks held their ground
I noted that internet sales penetration was expected to reach 20% in the US and grow rapidly across Europe. In practice, it seems to have matured at a little under 15%. The existing distribution networks — retailers, wholesalers, independent dealers — continued to add real value that online-only models couldn’t replicate: local availability, fitting services, specialist advice, and trusted relationships.
What changed isn’t that workshops suddenly embraced eCommerce — it’s that the definition of “digital transformation” itself evolved. The industry stopped asking “how do we sell tyres online?” and started asking “how do we run workshops more efficiently?”
That shift is where I found the opportunity that became Carsu Technologies.
Where the real transformation is happening
The workshop is the critical node
In 2017, I was thinking about distribution — how tyres move from manufacturer to consumer. The supply chain, the marketplace, the route to market. But the independent workshop is where the customer relationship actually lives. The shop books the appointments, manages inventory, communicates with vehicle owners, and builds loyalty. In 2017, most of them were running on paper, phone calls, and WhatsApp groups with no structure.
The real digital transformation isn’t about selling tyres through a slick eCommerce platform. It’s about giving the workshop owner tools that match how they actually work — practical, fast, and ready for the shop floor. Because the workshop’s value isn’t transactional. It’s the specialist behind the counter who knows the product, understands the customer’s driving profile, and gives personalised advice that no online checkout can replicate. Digital tools should amplify that professionality, not replace it.
Messaging replaced email
Nobody in 2017 was talking about WhatsApp as a business tool for workshops. But walk into any independent workshop in Greece, Italy, Spain, or the UK today, and WhatsApp is how they communicate with customers. Not email. Not a booking portal. WhatsApp.
This wasn’t a technology trend anyone predicted from the tyre industry’s perspective. It came from consumer behaviour — we got used to instant answers. Vehicle owners want to message their mechanic the way they message everyone else. The workshops that adapted to this win. The ones that don’t are losing customers to those that do.
The problem wasn’t selling — it was operating
The 2017 article was about how tyres are sold. The real opportunity turned out to be about how workshops are run. Scheduling, inventory, customer communication, invoicing, supplier ordering — these are the daily operations that determine whether a workshop thrives or barely survives.
Most software vendors approached this from the outside — building tools based on how they imagined workshops operate. The tools that actually get adopted are the ones built by people who have stood behind the counter.
The updated thesis
Nine years later, the core argument still holds: digital transformation is the key enabler of competitive advantage in the automotive aftermarket. But where the transformation happens has shifted.
The supply chain still matters — there are real gains to be made in the integration from manufacturer to workshop floor and in the connection to the final customer. But the point of service has become equally important. Independent workshops are the backbone of Europe’s automotive aftermarket — they service more vehicles than any franchise network. Their digital transformation determines the health of the entire chain, from manufacturer to end consumer.
The manufacturers that understood this early — the ones who invested in dealer enablement rather than dealer replacement — are winning. And the workshops that embrace operational digitisation, starting with how the shop communicates with its customers, are building businesses that will outlast the next decade of industry change.
The future of this industry isn’t being decided on the internet or on marketplace platforms. It’s being decided on the workshop floor.
The original article, “Moving towards digital transformation in tyre distribution,” was published on LinkedIn in April 2017.
Founder of Carsu Technologies. 25 years in the Automotive Aftermarket. Building the operating system for the independent workshop.
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