There is a Chinese version of this post, and I realize that I should have made the English version for this as well such that the English speaking Hong Kong residents are aware of the authorized official tyre as compared to parallel imported tyre (aka grey market products) in the current Hong Kong market.
There are more than 20 different brands in Hong Kong, and I will try to update with photos as much as possible.
I personally advise car owners / drivers to request a receipt, stating that the tyre is authorized official tyre to ensure the product information. Simply using the photos as depicted below where sole agent paste the label does not help a lot in the differentiation.
Michelin Tire
Pictures depicting
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Hong Kong sole agent label is pasted on the tyre
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There is no sole agent label on the tyre
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If tyre is made in Europe, there is no EU label
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If tyre is made in Europe, there will be EU label *
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(Usually) More expensive than parallel imported goods
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(Usually) Cheaper than authorized official goods
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*The EU label on the tyre can be taken out. It's still better to look at the sole agent label for verification of authorized official tyre
Note: All Made in Europe tyres are not necessarily authorized official tyre
If you have doubt about your Michelin tyre, check out the following link to contact the staff.
https://www.michelin.com.hk/en/assistance
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Toyo Tyre
Picture depicting authorized official tyre
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Tyre specification label is normally pasted on the tyre
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Some of the tyres may not have tyre speification label
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Only Made in Japan tyre is available since.... (I forgot)
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A varieties of manufacturing places
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Price may be cheaper than parallel imported tyres, depending on the model and size
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Maybe a little more expensive than authorized official tyre
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Continental Tyre
Picture depicting authorized official tyre
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Sole agent label is pasted on the tyre
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There is no sole agent label on the tyre
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Some of the tyres may have the Continental tire label (that states CONTINENTAL SINCE 1871)
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Not confirmed if the tyres may have the Continental tire label too
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(Usually) More expensive than parallel imported tyre. Some tyres with older manufacturing date could be cheaper than parallel imported tyre (that's with the same year)
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(Usually) Cheaper than authorized official tyre.
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Since June, 2018, all continental tires (for private vehicle) will have 180 days warranty*
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No Warranty
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*Terms and conditions apply. Please enquire Tyrehood or the sole agent for more information
The following link directs you to the post where I talked about the 180 days warranty
http://tyrehood.blogspot.com/2018/06/180.html
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Falken tire
Picture depicting authorized official tyre
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Sole agent label is pasted on the tyre
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there is no sole agent label
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Pirelli tire
I will upload the photos again
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Sole agent label is pasted on the tyre
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there is no sole agent label
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Most of the tyres' manufacturing places are made in Europe
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All the tires are made in Europe*
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| Tyres that are made in europe will have the EU label pasted on the tyre** |
Some of the tires may not have EU label***
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*I think so...
**All pirelli authorized official tyres have the EU label pasted (so far that we have sold off)
*** There is no EU label on the tire for those that we have sold (so far)
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Dunlop
呢個牌子係目前我分唔出到底行貨定係水貨. 因為行貨冇總代理標籤, 而水貨又有車呔規格標籤. 呢個就自己問呔鋪啦. 不過就算問左, 都可以俾水貨而自己唔知.
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Sole agent label is pasted on the tire
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There is no sole agent label on the tire
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12 months warranty (if I remembered correctly)
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No warranty
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*The warranty calculation is actually the same as those oversea (such as Australia and U.S). It's base on the kilometer that you have used the tire, and pay the partial amount of fees to purchase a new Dunlop tire if the old one accidentally torn apart. There is a distinct difference between Dunlop warranty and Continental warranty
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Yokohama tire
I can't actually pinpoint the difference between the two. It seems like the tyre specification label is different. I will update this section again if I know.
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Bridgestone tire
Authorized Parallel
Official Imported
Tyre Tyre
Sole agent label is pasted on the tire
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there is no sole agent label on the tire
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all tires have the specification label
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some may not have specification label
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All listed products in our official webpage,
https://www.tyrehood.com/en are authorized official tyres. If you are interested in purchasing parallel imported tyre, please enquire for information.
Parallel imported tyres price are not available (for the moment perhaps)
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How about other brands such as Kenda, Federal? I don't think there will be parallel imported tyres for these brands. But I will keep myself updated and update the post.
