Kenda Tire: Growth Amid a Pandemic & Navigating Trade in 2021

It's hard to grow amid a pandemic, but Kenda Tire was the outlier. Its message of “premium performance at a value price” found consumers at the right time, and Kenda officials say it’s proven fruitful for the tiremaker. However, just days deep into 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce threw a wrench into the works. Kenda and its fellow Taiwanese tiremakers are now working to escape unscathed from the department’s anti-dumping investigation into PLT tires imported from Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea. Despite this current challenge, Kenda Tire remains optimistic in 2021 with new products and enhancements to its dealer program on the horizon. In this episode of What’s Treading with Tire Review, we speak with Brandon Stotsenburg, vice president of automotive for American Kenda Rubber, and Ryan Lewis, the company’s marketing manager, on the following topics: - Challenges for Kenda and the tire supply chain in 2020 [2:10] - Market response to the Klever XT UTV and trends in the off-road segment [5:34] - Size expansions and products on the horizon in 2021 [7:30] - Enhancements to its Traction dealer program [10:01] - Kenda’s response to the International Trade Commission’s anti-dumping investigation into PLT tire imports from Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam [13:10] - What Kenda Tire officials want dealers to know about the brand this year [17:00] Listen here or subscribe to “What’s Treading with Tire Review” on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-treading-with-tire-review/id1470309726Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GA3lp6AFo7V7EEG5awHaEGoogle Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iv76bs6re7unom4p76myj3cakhmTo learn more about the DOC's investigation, go to: https://www.tirereview.com/doc-affirms-duties-on-imported-plt-tires/To learn more about Kenda Tire, visit: https://powersports.kendatire.com/en-us/