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High speed, safety, comfort, energy efficiency, and environmental protection are the goals pursued by modern automobiles. As automotive technology advances, the requirements for rubber components are becoming increasingly stringent. These components must not only meet new technical demands with a range of specialized properties but also exhibit superior physical and mechanical performance—such as resistance to aging, tolerance to extreme high and low temperatures, compatibility with advanced fuels, excellent dynamic fatigue resistance, and extended service life. In fact, every high‑performance attribute of a modern vehicle relies on technological progress in rubber materials; the performance and quality of automotive rubber parts play a crucial role in elevating the overall vehicle’s quality. It is worth noting that rubber components remain secondary parts, yet they continuously influence and shape the host vehicle’s technological advancement and level of sophistication. Consequently, the technology and quality of automotive rubber products essentially serve as a barometer of the vehicle’s overall technical standing.

Rubber tires are often referred to as the “two legs” of a car, and their critical role in vehicle performance is self‑evident. As the rubber product that consumes the largest quantity of raw rubber in the industry, tires are frequently treated as a distinct category within the broader rubber‑goods sector. Moreover, among automotive components, rubber tires constitute a specialized part.
Automotive rubber products can be classified into seven major categories: tires, sealing components, vibration‑damping products, safety‑related items, adhesive tapes, rubber hoses, and other products such as wiper blades, mudguards, adhesives, sealants, and interior trim parts.
Tires: Automotive tires bear the entire weight of the vehicle, its occupants, and its cargo, while also enabling functions such as forward and backward motion, steering, and braking. A vehicle’s safety, ride comfort, and handling performance depend to a large extent on the high performance and superior quality of its tires.
Rubber tires have a history of 160 years. As early as 1845, the British inventor R. W. Thomson fitted a rubber tube over a wooden wheel, reducing rolling resistance and dampening vibrations; this rudimentary rubber tire quickly gained popularity, thanks in no small part to the exceptional properties of rubber. It was not until 1888 that the British engineer J. B. Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire. Over the following century and more, driven by the growth of the automotive industry, rubber tires underwent several generations of innovation and refinement: from bias‑ply tires reinforced with cotton or rayon cords to those using nylon cords, culminating in today’s steel‑belted radial tires.
The invention of pneumatic tires by humans has significantly advanced the development of automobiles. Thanks to their excellent shock-absorbing and vibration-damping properties, these tires markedly reduce vehicle vibrations, enhancing driving safety and ride comfort while also enabling substantially higher speeds. With continuous improvements in rubber materials, formulation technologies, manufacturing equipment, and production processes, the safety and durability of automotive tires have been greatly enhanced. For example, in 1900, each tire could typically cover only about 800 kilometers; by 1978, that figure had risen to 60,000 kilometers; and by the 21st century, individual tires routinely exceed 140,000 kilometers, with some even reaching 200,000 kilometers. Meanwhile, the rapid construction and widespread use of highways have led to a dramatic increase in vehicle speeds, rising from a few dozen kilometers per hour to 100 km/h, 140 km/h, and even 200 km/h.
In China, nitrile rubber remains the dominant material for automotive oil seals. Although a few manufacturers can produce fluororubber and acrylate‑based oil seals, their output and quality still fall short of the automotive industry’s demands, with service lives often under 100,000 km. For high‑end passenger cars, key oil seals—such as the crankshaft rear seal and rod guide seals—continue to rely on imported components, resulting in a very low domestic production rate. As for skeletal oil seals, future efforts will focus on further enhancing the heat resistance, dynamic fatigue performance, and resistance to permanent compression set of the sealing compounds, while also improving tooling standards and automation levels and increasing mold‑making precision. Fluorosilicone rubber, chlorinated ether rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber, and acrylate rubber are expected to see widespread adoption as primary materials for oil seals.