About us

Early days

Firestone tyres have been sold in New Zealand almost since the first cars arrived here from the United States, not long after Harvey Firestone began making tyres in Akron, Ohio in 1900. Our first New Zealand office was set up in the 1920s and the forerunner to the Firestone Direct chain which opened in Dunedin in 1931.

Then, after World War II, things really started to motor when Firestone built a tyre manufacturing plant in Christchurch to feed the growing local car industry. While cars are no longer assembled in New Zealand, the tyre factory remains an important part of the Firestone/Bridgestone family.

Bridgestone and Firestone

In 1988 the Bridgestone Corporation purchased Firestone as part of its worldwide tyre family, and these days our factory makes around a million new tyres a year and exports to Australia and the Pacific, as well as selling through Firestone stores in New Zealand.

Our growing retail chain was re-named Firestone Direct in the mid-80's, a name chosen to underline the fact that our tyres are delivered directly from the factory to the consumer. Now, as we move from just looking after tyres to offering more and more services for your vehicle, we've re-named the stores again, and from now on they'll simply be called Firestone.

This name change is a new beginning for us. While tyres are still very important, we're now committed to taking care of much more. Click here to find out more about the all-new Firestone experience.