Dunlop tires
Historic British brand, now under Sumitomo in North America. Typically $80–$200 per tire.
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Dunlop is one of the oldest names in tires, founded in 1889 to commercialize John Boyd Dunlop's pneumatic bicycle tire. The brand's ownership has been fragmented for decades: Goodyear held the rights in North America from 1999, while Sumitomo Rubber Industries owned it in Asia. In 2025 Goodyear sold its Dunlop brand rights, including North America, to Sumitomo Rubber, so the brand is now unified under the Japanese company that also makes Falken. Tires still on shelves in 2026 may have been built in Goodyear's US plants, with newer stock coming from Sumitomo factories in Japan and Thailand.
In the US, Dunlop is a mid-price brand with a smaller lineup than its heritage suggests. The Signature HP and Signature II are all-season tires that came as original equipment on many Honda, Toyota and Subaru models, the Grandtrek AT20 is a mild all-terrain found on Toyota trucks and SUVs, the Direzza DZ102 is a well-priced summer performance tire and the Winter Maxx WM02 is a competent winter tire.
Warranties are ordinary: 45,000 to 60,000 miles on the all-seasons and none on the summer tires. Dunlop's honest situation is a brand in transition. The tires are solid replacements for OE fitments, but shoppers comparing on merit will often find better value in Falken from the same parent, or Hankook and Yokohama.
Dunlop models worth buying
| Model | Type | Mileage warranty | From | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signature HP | Performance Tires | 45,000 mi | $110 | Sport sedans that came with Dunlops and want a comparable performance all-season. |
| Signature II | All-Season Tires | 60,000 mi | $100 | Everyday Honda, Toyota and Subaru sedans replacing the OE tire. |
| Grandtrek AT20 | All-Terrain Tires | 60,000 mi | $150 | Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner and RAV4 owners who want the same mild all-terrain they came with. |
| Direzza DZ102 | Summer Tires | None | $100 | Miatas, Civics and Golfs that want summer grip at a low price. |
| Winter Maxx WM02 | Winter Tires | None | $110 | Sedans and crossovers in snow states that want a studless winter tire at a mid price. |
Strengths
- Exact OE replacement for many Honda, Toyota and Subaru models
- Direzza DZ102 is a good-value summer performance tire
- Now backed by Sumitomo Rubber's engineering
Weaknesses
- Brand in transition after the 2025 ownership change
- Lineup is small and warranties are unremarkable
Dunlop as a company
Dunlop has been sold in the US for more than a century and built tires at Tonawanda, New York from 1923 until the plant closed in February 2025, which leaves Sumitomo Rubber with no US tire factory. Since Sumitomo bought the brand rights on May 7, 2025 the US business is run by Sumitomo Rubber North America of Rancho Cucamonga, California, renamed Dunlop Tires North America in January 2026, which sells Dunlop alongside Falken through a new combined associate dealer program of independent dealers and wholesalers, with a fresh passenger, light truck and truck tire range being rolled out between 2026 and 2030. Dunlop also remains a heavyweight in US motorcycle racing as the official tire of MotoAmerica and Progressive American Flat Track.
Ownership split, because this is the one that trips people up. Goodyear held the Dunlop tire rights for North America and Europe from the 1999 joint venture and kept them when that venture was dissolved in 2015 (Sumitomo then took the North American Dunlop motorcycle brand). On January 7, 2025 Goodyear agreed to sell, and on May 7, 2025 completed the sale of, its Dunlop brand rights in Europe, North America and Oceania for consumer, commercial and other specialty tires to Sumitomo Rubber Industries for $526m plus a $105m transition support fee and about $104m of inventory. So for the US market every Dunlop car, light truck and truck tire right belongs to Sumitomo Rubber today, and the figures in this record are Sumitomo's. The leftovers: Goodyear kept the Dunlop motorcycle rights in Europe and Oceania, licenses the Dunlop brand back from Sumitomo for commercial truck tires in Europe, manufactured Dunlop consumer tires in Europe under a transition licence until December 31, 2025, and supplies Sumitomo with Dunlop-branded tires in Europe under a five-year offtake agreement; four-wheel Dunlop in India, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and motorcycle Dunlop in India, were outside the deal. Dunlop-branded sporting goods and other non-tire products are a separate trademark matter and are not covered here. Figures: Sumitomo Rubber Industries group (tires, sports and industrial products together) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, announced February 12, 2026 - sales revenue JPY 1,207,061m converted at SRI's own applied rate of JPY 150 per USD, giving about $8,047m; the tire segment alone was JPY 1,043,683m (about $6,958m). Operating margin 6.8% is IFRS operating profit of JPY 82,584m over sales revenue; SRI's own business profit margin was 7.5%. Employees 37,671 at December 31, 2025 is the consolidated group headcount as filed (SRI's own website shows only the 7,675 parent-company figure). fabriker_totalt 11 counts the tire plants in SRI's company profile: Japan 4, China 2, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa; fabriker_usa is empty because the Tonawanda, New York plant closed in February 2025. Tire production in units and in tonnes is not disclosed, hence null, and global market share is null for lack of a primary source. Rank 6 is Sumitomo Rubber's place in Tire Business' Global Tire Report, 40th edition, on fiscal 2024 tire sales of $6.9bn. Sumitomo Rubber Industries group figures harmonized across the Falken, Sumitomo and Dunlop records: FY2025 revenue JPY 1,207,061 million and operating profit JPY 82,584 million, i.e. an operating margin of 6.8 percent, and 11 tire plants (4 Japan, 2 China, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa). SRI has had no US tire plant since the Tonawanda, New York plant stopped production in November 2024 and closed in 2025.
Dunlop through the years
- 1888John Boyd Dunlop patents the pneumatic tire in Belfast and the Dunlop tire brand is born; the first factory opens on Stephen Street in Dublin.
- 1923Dunlop opens its tire plant in Tonawanda near Buffalo, New York, its manufacturing base in the United States for the next century.
- 1985Sumitomo Rubber Industries takes over the manufacturing and marketing rights to Dunlop road tires as Dunlop Rubber itself is broken up.
- 1999Goodyear buys 75% of Dunlop's European and North American tire businesses in a global joint venture with Sumitomo Rubber.
- 2015The Goodyear-Sumitomo joint venture is dissolved: Goodyear keeps the Dunlop car and truck tire rights for Europe and North America, while Sumitomo takes the North American Dunlop motorcycle brand.
- 2025On May 7 Sumitomo Rubber completes its purchase of the Dunlop brand for Europe, North America and Oceania, reuniting the brand under one owner for almost all markets.
Did you know?
- Dunlop is the oldest name in the American tire aisle: it goes back to John Boyd Dunlop's 1888 pneumatic tire patent, a decade before Goodyear existed.
- Since May 7, 2025 the US Dunlop car and truck tire brand has belonged to Japan's Sumitomo Rubber, not Goodyear - and in January 2026 its US arm changed its own name from Sumitomo Rubber North America to Dunlop Tires North America.
- Nobody builds Dunlop tires in the United States any more: the Tonawanda, New York plant that had run since 1923 stopped production in November 2024 and closed in February 2025, so US Dunlop tires are now imported from Sumitomo's plants abroad.
Dunlop tires: common questions
Who makes Dunlop tires in the US now?
Since Goodyear sold its Dunlop brand rights in 2025, Sumitomo Rubber Industries of Japan owns the Dunlop brand in North America. Some tires on shelves in 2026 were still built by Goodyear under a transition arrangement, so the country of origin on the sidewall may show the US, Japan or Thailand.
Are Dunlop tires good quality?
They are competent mid-tier tires and safe replacements for the original-equipment fitments they came on. Independent tests place them around the middle of the market. If you are shopping on merit rather than replacing like for like, Falken, Hankook or Yokohama often offer more for similar money.
Is the Dunlop Direzza DZ102 a good summer tire?
Yes, for the price. It offers real summer grip and responsive steering at a cost well below Michelin or Continental summer tires. It gives up some wet braking and ultimate dry grip to the premium tires, but for a Miata or Civic driven for fun it is a popular, sensible choice.