Bridgestone vs Michelin: Both companies are worldwide famous for providing safe, efficient, and reliable tires for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and so on. Hence, it is not easy to prioritize one over another since both of them are equally competitive brands. But there are some aspects from which both of them differ from one another, which we will be discussing in this article.
Bridgestone was founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi in Fukuoka, Japan. It is a multinational company that produces high-quality rubber and tires for passenger vehicles. The name “Bridgestone” came into existence from its founder’s name which means bridge-stone in Japanese. Bridgestone ruled the industry with the title of ‘world’s largest tire manufacturer’ for 11 years until its reign came to an end in 2021 by its competitor. Bridgestone offers a wide range of automotive parts and accessories in addition to tires. It also sells and provides a variety of other goods and services. They include journalistic and commercial services, as well as sporting goods such as golf clubs.
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A French-origin rubber and tire manufacturer, Michelin came into existence by two brothers named Édouard Michelin and André Michelin in 1888. Michelin is the literal inventor of the modern tire. The first run-flat tire was invented by the Michelin brothers in 1934. As of now (2022), it is the largest tire manufacturer in the world. The company headquarter is situated in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Table of Contents
Quick Comparison
Business Presence
The available manufacturing plants, including R&D facilities, of the Bridgestone Group are about 160 around the world. And it provides its products and services to 150 countries throughout the Globe. As of December 31, 2021, the total number of employees of Bridgestone is 135,636.
On the other hand, the Michelin Group today has a presence on every continent, with 117 production locations in 26 countries, 9 R&D centers across the world, 124,000 workers worldwide, and a commercial existence in 170 countries.
As we can see that Bridgestone has a comparatively much larger corporation set up but it’s Michelin who takes the lead on the commercial side.
Market Analysis
The net worth of Bridgestone Corporation and Michelin Corporation as of June 20, 2022, is $26.16B and $20.85B respectively. As of now (June 21, 2022), the share price of Bridgestone and Michelin is 5,160 JPY (37.88 USD) and 27.96 EUR (29.52 USD).
Let’s have a look at both companies’ annual revenue generation over the past 3 years.
| Parameter | Bridgestone | Michelin |
| Annual revenue for 2021 | $29.539B (4.94% increase from 2020) | $28.152B (20.4% increase from 2020) |
| Annual revenue for 2020 | $28.149B (12.53% decline from 2019) | $23.382B (13.5% decline from 2019) |
| Annual revenue for 2019 | $32.18B (2.14% decline from 2018) | $27.031B (3.91% increase from 2018) |
Bridgestone might be leading in having a comparatively high revenue generation last year but Michelin’s growth over the past 3 years surpasses its competitor by a wide margin.
Let’s have a look at both companies from a financial perspective.
| Parameter | Bridgestone | Michelin | ||||
| Year | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Gross Profit (Millions of USD) | 11,979 14 | 10,226 (15) | 12,083 | 8,263 (21) | 6,528 (17) | 7,931 |
| EPS Ratio, USD | 2.54 | – 0.16 | 1.84 | 2.42 | 0.8 | 2.17 |
| Total Assets (Billions of USD) | 39.38 | 36.021 | 34.808 | 41.055 | 36.139B | 35.478B |
Bridgestone is currently having an upper hand when it comes to gross profit but Michelin’s gross profit rose by roughly 17% while its competitor’s rise was around 14%. The EPS (Earning per Share) ratio of Bridgestone also surpasses its competitor. But the value and growth in Michelin’s assets surpass its competitor.
Diversity in Tires
Both of the companies manufacture a large variety of tires for passenger cars, motorbikes, bicycles, aircraft, agriculture, metro, etc. Let’s have a look at the tire variety made by these two giants for automobiles and motorcycles. This would allow us to analyze this competition in a more versatile way.
| Tires | Bridgestone | Michelin |
| For Automobiles | Sport and Performance: 4 Fuel-Efficient: 3 Premium Comfort: 5 Premium SUV: 1 4WD and SUV: 10 Run Flat Performance: 3 | Luxury Performance: 15 Passenger Car: 14 SUV Crossover: 24 Performance Sport: 16 Light Truck: 10 |
| For Motorcycles | Race: 9 Sports: 8 Touring: 30 American Cruiser: 12 Adventure: 31 Off-road: 20 Scooter: 13 Other: 10 | Sporting: 3 Custom: 8 Off-road: 12 Retro: 2 Racing: 9 Touring: 6 Adventure: 3 Commuting: 5 |
After analyzing the data given above, we can state that Michelin has a vast variety of automobile tires but lacks behind its competitor when it comes to providing a massive variety for motorcycles as well.
Other Products
Besides being the world’s largest tire manufacturer, Michelin also provides a wide range of products to its customers. Some of its products are mentioned below.
- It provides a wide range of wiper blades for automobiles’ windshield cleaning and protection.
- It provides car wash buckets with a cleaning equipment kit for car washing purposes.
- It provides a hybrid portable cooler/ warmer to keep cool/warm the food and drinks during a long tour ride.
- It provides a rapid tire inflator and tire storage bags as well.
- It provides a multi-function portable power source for batteries.
- Michelin is developing a new kind of robust, innovative soles for outdoor footwear, driven by a century of tire technology innovation.
It’s not just the Michelin, but Bridgestone also offers a wide variety of many other products besides tires. Some of them are mentioned below.
- Golf clubs and balls are among the many athletic equipment offered by Bridgestone.
- For a variety of uses, it offers a large selection of bicycles, including both sports and city bicycles.
- It provides various types of superior quality industrial and hydraulic hose products.
- Conveyor belts of high quality are being provided to customers to enhance their productivity.
- Bridgestone meets the demand of rubber tracks and pads for many construction equipment such as multi-terrain loaders, compact track loaders, mini-excavators, etc.
- With its cutting-edge technology, Bridgestone manufacturers Seismic Isolation Bearing for protecting structures from earthquakes.
- Bridgestone manufactures a wide variety of many automotive products. Some of them include seat pads, engine mounts, bump spotter, upper sport, damper pulley, suspension bushing, and anti-vibration & polyurethane foam products.
Both of the contenders manufacture a marvelous variety of high-quality products. Their product categories may differ, but they assure premium quality and innovation. So we can say that both competitors ended in a stalemate in this contest.
Services & Solutions
In order to fulfill the unique requirements of each operation, both groups continuously design, improve, and co-develop their services and solutions in close consultation with their customers.
Some of the many solutions provided by Bridgestone are mentioned below.
- Fleet clients may enjoy safer, more environmentally friendly, and more productive transportation thanks to Bridgestone’s integrated solutions. Some of its provided services for the fleet are maintenance services along with tire monitoring, inspections, support from Bridgestone’s global network, casing management, expert technical guidance, and more.
- Through their tires and services with the finest quality and cutting-edge technologies, Bridgestone is committed to helping airlines create new value while supporting secure and stable aircraft operations.
- Bridgestone also offers solutions that will help reduce labor costs and increase the productivity of agricultural operating procedures.
- Bridgestone accurately discerns the dynamics of societal and consumer values in dynamic social and economic situations and offers tailored solutions to enhance mining operations.
In providing innovative and revolutionary solutions and services, Michelin is also not far behind its competitor. Some of the major solutions and services provided by Michelin are mentioned below.
- In order to manage a fleet of semi-trailers, vans, or light & heavy commercial vehicles, Michelin provides a few solutions such as EFFITRAILER for better management and optimization of semi-trailers, MyInspection to enable quick vehicles inspection by drivers, and MICHELIN Mechanical Care for mechanical maintenance on a small level.
- For truck tire maintenance, Michelin offers services like EFFITIRES, Tire Care, and ONCall. These would help drivers to inspect and identify tire problems through digital means and the privilege of having a 24/7 truck breakdown service.
- To enhance the road safety of vehicles, Michelin provides a Driving Data to Intelligence (DDI) service which uses driving data to analyze driving behavior, identify any upcoming risks, and develop intelligence for maintenance prediction.
- To optimize aeronautical, mining agricultural yields, it offers services like MEMS, TireCare TPMS, and PresSense project which improve the safety of people and enhanced productivity of mentioned industries.
- Safecube is a partnership between Argon Consulting, Sigfox, and Michelin to enhance worldwide maritime logistics monitoring
Their provided solutions and services may differ from one another, but there is no doubt that both contenders offer tremendous services and advanced solutions to their customers. So we can say that both competitors ended in a stalemate in this contest.
Manufacturing Technologies
There is no corporation in the world that can survive and grow without upgrading its products and services through the means of research and development. Michelin and Bridgestone are no different. Both of them use advanced technologies and innovations to manufacture more secure, reliable, and comfortable products.
Some of these innovative technologies utilized by Michelin in tire manufacturing are mentioned below.
- INFINICOIL technology – to enhance durability in a harsh environment.
- POWERCOIL technology – reduces rolling resistance and improves fuel efficiency.
- DURACOIL technology – a nylon reinforced structure for better robustness.
- MICHELIN Ultraflex Technologies – improves soil health and enhance productivity in agriculture.
- B2 technology – coup with extreme earthmover situations.
- NRF technology – deals with resilient conditions of underground mining.
- REGENION technology – promotes tread self-generation after wearing.
- Advanced Compounding Technology – blend of some unique tread compounds for better mileage.
- TWEEL airless technology – develops an airless radial tire that requires no maintenance and can’t be punctured.
- RFID technology – a Radio Frequency Identification system being utilized to automatically identify drivers & vehicles which makes it an advanced security system.
Some advanced technologies utilized by Bridgestone are mentioned below.
- NanoPro-Tech – manipulation of molecular structures to create the latest tire materials.
- Run-Flat Technology – allows drives to drive up to 50 miles after the tire gets punctured or cut.
- Smart Strain Sensor technology – to measure the strain on tires when it comes in contact with the road.
- ENLITEN Technology – it reduces tires’ rolling resistance and improves fuel efficiency.
- MasterCore off-the-road (OTR) – provides ultra-high durability.
- acquired iTrack – provides real-time data of tires using a pressure monitoring system.
- SUSYM – World’s first innovative polymer that syndicates the resins and rubber on a molecular level. This innovative polymer surpasses both natural and synthetic rubber in terms of providing benefits.
- Disruptive Technologies Program – a double-networked rubber is manufactured to improve the durability and fuel efficiency of a tire.
- ULTIMATE EYE – the only technology that allows to visually see the contact patch of tires.
- Non-Pneumatic Tire Technology – provides air-free tires for maximum durability and low maintenance.
- ologic – provides superior fuel-efficient tires.
- Sensing Technology – to analyze and inform drivers about the road & tires’ conditions.
They may utilize different types of technologies to upgrade their products, but both of them assure premium quality tires with high reliability and safety. So we can say that both competitors ended in a stalemate in this contest.
Warranty Comparison
Michelin vehicle tires come with a warranty of 6 years from the date of manufacturing and 3 years from the date of purchasing. Michelin offers 5 years of warranty from the date of purchase for all of its two-wheel tires. This warranty is against defects in workmanship or material.
Bridgestone offers 6 years of warranty from the date of manufacturing and 5 years of warranty from the date of purchase for all of its vehicle tires. But its two-wheel products (motorcycle tires) come with a warranty of 4 years from the date of manufacturing & purchasing.
Bridgestone offers a better warranty period for vehicle tires but Michelin takes the lead in the warranty section of motorcycles.
Cost Comparison
When it comes to cost, both competitors can never be compared to one another since their product categories, benefits, after-services, warranty period and many other things are completely different. So saying that one is costlier than the other wouldn’t be a justified statement since none of them share even a single common product that can claim to be manufactured in the same way, provides the same benefits, possesses the same composition, and so on.
But when we look at the price range of their products, they pretty much lie in the same range which is between 100 $ to 900 $.
Famous Bridgestone vs Michelin Tires Comparisons:
Conclusion
In the tire manufacturing industry, Michelin and Bridgestone are undoubtedly the two biggest giants in the world. Besides being the oldest tire manufacturer, Michelin is also the inventor of the modern-day tire. But when it comes to market capitalization, Bridgestone takes the lead even though it came into existence 43 years later than its competitor. But as of now, we see that Michelin is growing at a much faster rate than its competitor, and has expanded its business over a comparatively larger region.
Both of them manufacture many types of tires for different purposes, but their primary focus is on the tires for automobiles and motorcycles. In comparison to its competitor, Michelin has a wide variety of tires when it comes to automobiles. But it’s the Bridgestone that takes the lead in tire manufacturing for motorcycles. Besides tires, both of them manufacture many innovative and useful products for their customers. Besides manufacturing tires and tire-related products, both contenders also provide many innovative solutions and helpful services to their customers. Both of them utilize advanced technologies to offer premium-quality tires to their customers. Also, the price range of all of their products is almost equal to one another.
