And, of course, Chevrolet’s Corvette was a groundbreaker, offering run-flat tires as an option in 1994 and as standard equipment beginning in 1997. Lexus was also out of the gates early with a run-flat fitment on the SC Coupe in 2000 and has followed with run-flat options on many vehicles since. By 2004, BMW featured run-flat tires on the 3, 5, 6 and 7 Series automobiles, as well as the Z4.

Soon after, in 2002, the Mini brand launched with 100% run-flat tires featured on the Mini Cooper models with 16- and 17-in.

Starting in 2000, BMW debuted the stylish Z8 with a staggered set of 18-in. Without question, BMW has most embraced and advanced run-flat technology in its automobiles (see Figure 2) among OEMs.

(See Figure 1 for run-flat tire market size and segmentation.)

The touring segment, with H- and V-speed rated tires, comprised around 47% of the total run-flat tire market in 2019, followed by CUV/highway tires with around 19% of the market. Figure 1: Run-Flat Tire Market (Yokohama Tire market segmentation based on USTMA data).

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