Michael Welch OBE, the founder of online tyre distributor Blackcircles, is set to launch Rolo Tires, a premium tyre brand.
Rolo Tires will launch with a range of three all-season and summer tyres from Q1 2027.
Six markets will be included in the initial launch: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.
It will utilise a direct-to-consumer model, with customers purchasing online and having tyres shipped to them.
Rolo Tires intends to make high-quality tyres more accessible and has developed agentic systems to help it operate in a lean, responsive way from launch.
The company is open to strategic partnerships with retail, fleet or digital commerce partners, but will protect its customer-first proposition.
Rolo 1 will be a passenger car tyre for everyday driving, Rolo 2 will be an ultra-high performance tyre and Rolo T will be a 4×4 and light truck tyre.
It is planning a North American expansion for 2028.
Welch said: “I’m really excited to announce the launch of Rolo. Our factory-direct model is designed to give motorists access to premium-quality tyres at a more reasonable price, without asking them to compromise on quality, confidence or value.
“Starting direct-to-consumer is the cleanest way to establish the brand, the value proposition and the customer experience.
“But Europe is a diverse market, and we know the right partners can help us move faster in the right places.
“We are open to conversations with people who understand where the industry is heading.
“The tyre business has a lot of operational complexity, but much of it is repeatable. After 30 years in the industry, I know where that complexity sits.
“What is different today is that modern technology allows us to define our processes much more precisely and deliver them far more consistently.
“Rolo is being designed around that idea: use agentic systems to handle repeatable work at scale, while keeping human judgement focused on the decisions that actually need it.
“Business has given me opportunities I could never have imagined when I was starting out. As Rolo expands, I want part of that growth to support young people, enterprise and families.
“That has to be part of the brand from the beginning, not a soundbite or afterthought.”
Rolo Tires will support causes focused on enterprise, young people, adoption and fostering.
Welch said: “The tyre market has changed, but the old hierarchy has not caught up.
“For years, the established premium brands benefited from enormous brand pull. Drivers bought what they knew, what their garage recommended, or what they had always been told was ‘best’.
“That worked when the quality gap was obvious and information was limited.
“But today the picture is very different. Value brands have improved dramatically, customers are more price-conscious, and tyre label ratings now give people a more objective way to compare wet grip, efficiency and noise.
“Consumers can see more for themselves. They are asking whether the traditional premium price gap is really justified.
“At the same time, the big manufacturers are under pressure to protect mix and margin. They are becoming more selective about where they focus their portfolio, their manufacturing capacity and their investment in tyre sizes. That creates a gap in the market.
“Customers do not want cheap for the sake of cheap. They still want premium levels of safety, confidence and quality – but they do not want to feel they are paying a legacy brand premium just because of the name on the sidewall.
“That is the gap Rolo is being built to fill: a brand built for today’s consumer offering premium-quality tyres, a focused range of high-volume sizes, factory-direct economics and a price that makes sense for today’s driver.
“We are not here to play by the old tyre hierarchy. We are here to challenge it.”
