- Presentation of the Linglong Sport Master 2 in Balocco
- Opening of the Linglong Tire Center in Villongo
Linglong Tire CEO Lingkun "Andy" Zhou and Vice President Yongchao "Aaron" Xu informed the dealers about the most important news of Linglong, reported on the current fiscal year and provided insights into Linglong Tire's future strategy. Zhou assessed the market development in the first half of 2026 and emphasized that despite the difficult and constantly changing market environment, Linglong was extremely successful together with the trading partners and sales growth was achieved. This success is only possible due to the professional and close cooperation between the tire manufacturer and the European distribution partners.
Kai You, responsible for the Global Marketing at Linglong Tire, informed about the new Linglong Tire dealer program "Linglong Hub", which will start shortly and will offer dealers further incentives to market Linglong tires in the future: dealers receive quantity-based unit boni as well as customized marketing packages, such as POS packages, to help sell Linglong tires in the shops. Andreas Krause, Head of Research and Development in Europe, then presented the latest products of the three group brands sold in Europe, Linglong, Crosswind and Leao, which will be available from spring 2027. The focus is on van tires, so the Linglong Dura Master Van 4S and the Leao Nova Force Van 4S, both all-season tires for vans and campers, will soon be available. The most important new release in 2027 will be the new UHP tire Linglong Sport Master 2, which customers were able to get to know and test the next day.
The bus then took all guests to Villongo, a city located north-east of Milan, where the first Linglong Tire Center built in Western Europe was officially opened by Linglong Tire CEO Lingkun "Andy" Zhou, Gigi Pezzotta, owner of Sebino Pneus and Renato Paghera, Sales Director at Fintyre and supplier of Sebino Pneus. The Linglong Tire Center was completely branded Linglong Tire both outside and inside and is considered a benchmark for other Linglong Tire Centers that will soon open in Italy and throughout Europe. Then all went to the Alfa Romeo Museum, a brand that belongs to the Stellantis Group, one of Linglong Tire's most important original equipment customers worldwide. After a guided tour of the museum, the day ended in the museum restaurant with a festive gala dinner, delicious drinks and Italian music played live by a band.
The next day, the group went to Balocco to the legendary test site near Milan to test and experience the new UHP tire Linglong Sport Master 2 for the first time. With an area of 550 hectares and a track length of over 80 km, with every conceivable combination of curves, road surfaces, dynamic surfaces and irrigation systems, Balocco is one of the most efficient test sites in the world. On various Mercedes-Benz and AMG models, the dealers were able to test the new flagship in the Linglong tire range in detail throughout the day in various exercises. The event concluded with a race taxi ride with a Sport Master 2 AMG vehicle, during which a professional racing driver impressively showed the guests what the tire can do under extreme conditions on the racetrack, which will be available in stores from spring 2027.
The event ended with dinner at the legendary El Porteno Restaurant, which, in addition to the outstanding cuisine, also thrilled the guests with a spectacular dance and music show and provided the perfect setting for the European Dealer Conference, which will take place again in London in 2027.
