Would you buy a budget Chinese winter tire, from a Chinese company, manufactured in China? I was reading a review about the Sailun Ice Blazer WS L2 studless winter, and the article had some interesting comments. In this years testing from Test World/NAF, the Sailun came in 7th overall, 0.1 points behind the Blizzak WS70, and ahead of Vredestein and Dunlop, and tied with Pirelli. The Nokian R2 was tied for 1st place, with the Goodyear UGI2.
https://www.naf.no/forbrukertester/dekktester/vinterdekktest-2014/test-av-piggfrie-dekk-2014/
Some excerpts from the article:
…………... it’s true that Sailun is not a household name like ‘Tier 1’ national brands Michelin, Bridgestone or Goodyear. Nor, admits Sailun Canada, are they what is regarded as a ‘Tier 2’ company, comprised of brands like BF Goodrich, Hankook, Toyo or Yokohama.
…………..Sailun resides in what is called the ‘Value’ category – Tier 3 – along with brands like Hercules and GT Radial. But Sailun wants you to know that it punches above its weight.
By that it means Sailun tires may well cost much less than Tier 1 and Tier 2 level tires, but they deliver the quality and performance of at least brands from Tier 2.
“Actually, we’d like to say we match the National brands,” says Sailun Canada Vice President Marketing Brian Mielko, “But nobody would believe us. So let’s just start with Tier 2.”……………………….
…………….Sailun Canada executives are well aware that “Made in China” is not yet a recommendation for quality and that this is a reason for concern by some consumers, especially when it comes to a safety-related purchase like new tires for the family vehicle.
But according to Mr. Mielko, “China can build what you want. If you want a high quality, precision device like an iPad, China can build it; if you want a spacecraft that can orbit the planet, China can build that, too. And if you want something of lower quality, well, it depends on what you want.”
What he’d like consumers to understand about Sailun tires is that, “Quality is not related to the country of origin, but is directly related to the factory of origin.”
Mr. Mielko makes the point, therefore, that Chinese factories are more than capable of building excellent tires, and indeed the Tier 1 brands have large manufacturing facilities in China (although these are not Chinese companies, it should be said). Sailun’s heading for an annual global output of 30 million tires, which are sold in 120 countries and from Sailun’s point of view, the quality of its tires should be judged on their merit…………….
http://www.autos.ca/winter-driving/winter-tire-review-sailun-ice-blazer-wsl2/
