For over a hundred years the story of Pirelli Tires has been the story of the automobile itself, the core business of a brand that was born in 1872 and started producing Tires from the late nineteenth century. 1901 saw the introduction of the "Ercole" that equipped some of the earliest cars on the road while the "Milano" bicycle Tires were introduced even earlier in 1890.
And over a century of internationalization: from Europe to South America, and then the United States, China and Eastern Europe.
Pirelli Tire today is the world's fifth largest operator in terms of turnover on the tire market, with levels of profitability among the highest in the sector. In 2005, the activities today under the aegis of Pirelli Tire generated revenues of around 3.63 billion Euros, with a growth of almost 12% with respect to the previous year, with earnings before interests and taxes of 328 million Euros.