Michelin is betting on Moon buggy tyres, racing rubber and aerospace materials to keep its French factories alive as Chinese competitors reshape the global tyre industry. The Clermont-Ferrand company, whose factories were strategic enough to bomb during WWII, now faces a different threat: a cost gap with Asia that has made exporting mass-market tyres from Europe "virtually impossible," according to CEO Florent Menegaux.

The company closed two French plants last year, cutting 1,200 jobs, and its historic Cataroux site is being converted into a start-up hub. Clermont-Ferrand now employs about 10,000 workers, down from one-third of staff levels in the 1980s. To counter the decline, Michelin is focusing on high-end products including aircraft tyres and materials for NASA’s Artemis moon rover programme, alongside a push into polymer composites used in aviation, energy and construction.

Michelin made three US polymer acquisitions last year worth around €1bn, targeting sales of €1.7bn in the division. While still a fraction of total revenues, the unit delivers 15% margins—its most profitable business. "If we don't stay at this level of excellence, we'll disappear," Menegaux warned, noting French employment and energy costs have "exploded" versus Asia over six years.