Why car wheel prices are going up?

People drive on car wheels every day but rarely think about them. When buying a car people are more likely to think about the fuel economy, rear-seat space, or sound system while their least consideration is the car rims and car wheels. Until it rains or the car wheels fail or until you have to pay to replace them. The sticker shop that can attend to replacing a set of car wheels may be especially acute for a growing slice of drivers. Today due to one big factor the SUV sport utility vehicles are all the rage making up about half of all tire sales in 2020. A roughly 20% increase since 2007.

What does the customer reports survey 2019 tell us?

A Consumer Reports survey in 2019 found that SUV car wheels are quite a bit pricier than those you would put on sedans, coupes, or even minivans. Those were not costly as car wheels bought by survey takers that distinction belonged to sports car wheels and tires which ran up to nearly $190. The shift to SUVs is driving up the price of car wheels for the average tire and they aren't the only factor responsible to drive up the cost.

Are electric car wheels are also getting expensive?

Electric cars also stand or raise tire prices as they take over the auto market. So far car wheels have been somewhat resistant as the onslaught of e-commerce that has afflicted many other sectors of retail. A lot of consumers still buy their car wheels through dealers and even online sellers rely on traditional dealers for installation. But the entire industry is very competitive and all players are trying to find new ways to connect with savings-focused customers.

A glimpse of the history of car wheels:

The history of car wheels stretches at least as far back as the mid-1800s. Early car wheels were solid rubber which was good at protecting car wheels but not great for cushioning riders against bumps in the road. The pneumatic or air-filled tire is attributed to Robert William Thompson who filed a patent for a design in 1845. The mid to late 1800s was also when many of the world's best-known tire brands were founded.

Especially the European French tire manufacturer Michelin traces its history as far back as 1832. It was renamed Michelin in 1889 and it developed the first detachable bicycle tire in 1891. Italian maker Pirelli began as a general producer of elastic rubber goods in 1872. In America, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process in 1839. He used heat and sulfur to turn flexible but weak natural rubber into a much stronger and more reliable substance. The discovery named after the Roman God of fire Vulcan was crucial to the development of rubber for industrial uses and of course car wheels. Japanese makers came a bit later including what is now the largest Bridgestone. Bridgestone started out as a division of another Japanese manufacturer in 1930 car wheels. And renamed itself, stuck in 1931 it would become one of the world's largest tire makers in 1988.

When it merged with the American manufacturer Firestone. Tire makers are typically divided up into tiers by those who follow the industry. There are tier one brands which typically include the best and often highest price names Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone are brands whose car wheels are installed stock on cars and factories. Brands that make a lot of the specialty car wheels customers will favor for certain types of vehicles, especially high-performance ones. Below them are the tier two brands which tend to be a bit lower priced and have a bit less market share. They seemed to be less aggressively marketed by their makers. It often included brands such as Bridgestone, Firestone, Goodyears, Dunlop, Michelin BF, Goodrich Yokohama, and Toyo brands. Tier 3 car wheels are often thought of as value brands. The cheap this third category has become a favorite of shoppers who were using the Internet to buy car wheels.

Factors affecting the actual costs:

In a note published in February 2020, North Coast research discussed a survey of 100 Amazon sellers in 20 major cities across the EU. They saw a lift of four to five customers per week from Amazon sales. At boys saw an additional 3 customers and tire installer. Monroe saw one or more customers per week. On average 57% of customers said the car wheels they installed were cheap tires, some said they were value brands while others were using tier 3. Some of which they hadn't previously seen. 41% were seeing a mix of brands most of which were coming from tier two. Only two percent of contacts in the survey saw an influx of tier-one branded car wheels. Right now, Amazon has a modest impact on tire retail, and it is unclear how popular selling online could become. Engineer Johnny Mac says one of the challenges tire makers face is distinguishing themselves from each other to customers. Consumers can be price sensitive. In the words of one analyst, they often see car wheels as all the same big black rubber donuts.

Conclusion:

 There are of course all kinds of car wheels, but basically bigger car wheels require more materials, more construction, time, therefore, a higher cost. A 2019 survey from Consumer Reports found the median price of a tire for a sedan coupe hatchback or minivan was $137. This was not including the cost of installation. The price for an SUV tire was $162.00 pickup trucks were even more expensive at $175. SUVs come in all sizes but are generally larger and heavier than comparable passenger cars in their same size segments are heavier. The SUVs also often have larger car wheels and will simply need a larger tire.

The proliferation of SVS has led tire makers to broaden their lineups and in some cases create new categories of car wheels made specifically for SUVs and crossovers. Some of those vehicles can take any size, they can take a car tire or they could take a truck tire. They can take what manufacturers are making now. This new segment is called SUV/Crossover type problem. They are a bit more expensive than car wheels only because they come in larger sizes and unlike clothing pay more money for larger size car wheels and witness smaller pipe customers are often surprised at the higher price. They will pay for SUV in pickup truck car wheels. You know there are a lot more 17- or 18-inch diameter car wheels being produced this year. That's really just a function of how the car population is evolving. There are more raw materials, more natural rubber or synthetic rubber used in the manufacturing and so the price also increases.

Factory Wheel Warehouse has to offer a lot of different wheel options depending upon the model, year, style, color, and finishing of the car wheel. For professional customer services about rims and wheels call us at +1 518-579-9260. For car rim, repair services Elite of Albany is the best in town so make sure to check them out.

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