Pirelli on the Roads of China
The history of Pirelli in China may be recent but it is certainly inspiring. And, of course, in more general terms, the company’s encounters with this vast Asian country stretch far beyond the past few decades, going back more than a century.
Because, in actual fact, Pirelli tyres were already racing on the roads of China in 1907. This was when Prince Scipione Borghese aboard his car, the Itala, accompanied by his driver and mechanic Ettore Guizzardi, triumphed in an amazing contest between five crews of automotive pioneers: the Peking-Paris race. And it was Pirelli tyres that took the prince’s car along the toughest roads in China and then all the way across Asia until they finally ended up in Paris. The race became the stuff of legend and the epic journey was eloquently narrated by Luigi Barzini of the Corriere della Sera, another member of the Italian crew and thus a direct witness of the endeavour.
Just over ten years later, Pirelli was back in China, as we see in a file entitled “Fiera Campionaria Cina” which contains a series of reports, correspondence, minutes and notes that illustrate the company’s participation in the China Trade Fair of 1918. The company took part in the event, sending materials and, as always, exploring new market opportunities.
Fast forward to 1971, when Alessandro Signorini, the general director of Industrie Pirelli, took part in an economic mission organised by the Government: this was the first official Italian mission to set foot in China since the People’s Republic had been proclaimed in 1949. Signorini himself described his impressions of this encounter in an interview with Fatti e Notizie.
Then, in the early 2000s, came the enormous leap that led Pirelli to start up production in China. In 2005 the company entered the Chinese market, in partnership with local entrepreneurs, as a manufacturer of cutting-edge tyres. Over the next 15 years, Pirelli expanded its production facilities with three factories, located in Yanzhou, Jiaozuo, and Shenzhou, creating over 4,500 jobs and setting up more than 3,700 points of sale. China emerged as an extremely dynamic global market, and in 2015 it was a Chinese group, ChemChina – which later became Sinochem – that became one of its most important investors, with the support of the Chinese Silk Road Fund. Italian technology found an ever-growing market in China, especially in the premium-tyre sector and today also in that of electric vehicles. Pirelli’s commitment to environmental sustainability helped consolidate its presence in the country. Initiatives such as waste recovery, the use of low-carbon energy, and a reduction in water consumption, for example, earned the Pirelli plant in Yanzhou the prestigious Class A certification from the Shandong state government in 2023. The honour came in the wake of its nomination as a Green Factory in 2020.
The history of Pirelli in China may be recent but it is certainly inspiring. And, of course, in more general terms, the company’s encounters with this vast Asian country stretch far beyond the past few decades, going back more than a century.
Because, in actual fact, Pirelli tyres were already racing on the roads of China in 1907. This was when Prince Scipione Borghese aboard his car, the Itala, accompanied by his driver and mechanic Ettore Guizzardi, triumphed in an amazing contest between five crews of automotive pioneers: the Peking-Paris race. And it was Pirelli tyres that took the prince’s car along the toughest roads in China and then all the way across Asia until they finally ended up in Paris. The race became the stuff of legend and the epic journey was eloquently narrated by Luigi Barzini of the Corriere della Sera, another member of the Italian crew and thus a direct witness of the endeavour.
Just over ten years later, Pirelli was back in China, as we see in a file entitled “Fiera Campionaria Cina” which contains a series of reports, correspondence, minutes and notes that illustrate the company’s participation in the China Trade Fair of 1918. The company took part in the event, sending materials and, as always, exploring new market opportunities.
Fast forward to 1971, when Alessandro Signorini, the general director of Industrie Pirelli, took part in an economic mission organised by the Government: this was the first official Italian mission to set foot in China since the People’s Republic had been proclaimed in 1949. Signorini himself described his impressions of this encounter in an interview with Fatti e Notizie.
Then, in the early 2000s, came the enormous leap that led Pirelli to start up production in China. In 2005 the company entered the Chinese market, in partnership with local entrepreneurs, as a manufacturer of cutting-edge tyres. Over the next 15 years, Pirelli expanded its production facilities with three factories, located in Yanzhou, Jiaozuo, and Shenzhou, creating over 4,500 jobs and setting up more than 3,700 points of sale. China emerged as an extremely dynamic global market, and in 2015 it was a Chinese group, ChemChina – which later became Sinochem – that became one of its most important investors, with the support of the Chinese Silk Road Fund. Italian technology found an ever-growing market in China, especially in the premium-tyre sector and today also in that of electric vehicles. Pirelli’s commitment to environmental sustainability helped consolidate its presence in the country. Initiatives such as waste recovery, the use of low-carbon energy, and a reduction in water consumption, for example, earned the Pirelli plant in Yanzhou the prestigious Class A certification from the Shandong state government in 2023. The honour came in the wake of its nomination as a Green Factory in 2020.
