Do you wonder, how many wheels are there in the world?
The Automotive Industry has been booming each year with a significant increase in vehicle production, causing relevant parts such as wheels to be in the estimated number of 37 billion worldwide.
Several factors are considered to identify how many wheels are there worldwide, including the total number of vehicles, type of vehicle, and the number of wheels per vehicle.
Table of Contents
How Many Wheels Are There in Each Vehicle?
The estimated number of 37 billion wheels shows how this item was widely used and important in each person’s life.
Yes, it’s hard to identify the exact number of wheels in the world. However, we will discuss in detail how 37 billion was calculated based on the number of vehicles sold and the wheels on them.
1. Cars
The total number of cars right now is roughly around 1.446 billion, and we can base the calculation on this number by multiplying it by the car’s number of wheels. Ideally, we could multiply this by 4, but cars have more than four wheels.
Yes, we should include the steering wheel in front of the driver’s seat and the wheels that run the car’s transmission.
Therefore, for an average of 6 wheels to be multiplied by 1.446 billion cars, there might just be approximately 8.7 billion wheels are on earth for car vehicles
2. Bicycles and Motorcycles
Bicycles and motorcycles contribute around 2 billion wheels to the world. If we don’t include the gears, then we will multiply the total number of bicycles today, which is around 1 billion, and their 2 wheels.
3. Toys
Another factor to consider is the number of wheels on the toys that have wheels. All over the children’s section, you could find toy cars, toddler’s carts, and lego wheels which only concludes that there are billions of wheels in the toy industry.
24 billion toy wheels exist in the world because of 6 billion sales of toy wheels multiplied by 4.
4. Other vehicles and items
So far, we’ve got a surprising number of wheels all around the world and we haven’t counted the statistics of other vehicles yet. We have 10 wheeler trucks, a 6-wheeler truck, Pick Up, Food carts, Van, and other vehicles.
We could also include chairs that have caster wheels, wheelbarrows, a grocery cart, and a lot more that are useful in everyday life.
Thus, the vehicles above would conclude with 37 billion as the estimated amount of wheels in the world.
Which Company Is the Largest Manufacturer of Wheels?
Comparatively, the largest manufacturer of wheels on earth is no other than the toy company Lego.
This company has been a constant winner in the Guinness book of world records as the company that produces the highest number of wheels worldwide.
The second largest manufacturer of wheels but first on regular wheels are Michelin. The company is based in France, and it distributes 200 million tires per year all around the world. It is then followed by Bridgestone in Japan, Continental in Germany, and Goodyear in the United States.
Now you may want to read the reasons why Michelin tires are so expensive. Also the comparison between Michelin vs Bridgestone vs Goodyear here.
Why Ask the Number of Wheels Around the World?
It may just be a question that you have out of the blue, or you are researching how many wheels we have in total. Still, this question started when people got curious on Twitter about whether we have more doors or more cars all around the world.
The discussion started with a poll, “Door vs Wheels,” posted by Ryan Nixon as he and his friends got curious. Afterward, the discussion became popular as more people engaged and offered their own opinion on social media.
Conclusion
Wheels are an essential part of any vehicle because, without this, any vehicle will not move from point A to B. There should be strict maintenance for the wheels as it will be costly and unsafe if not monitored and handled correctly during the ride.
To the question “how many wheels are there in the world?”, it is estimated to be 37 million in total. Although, the number is just an estimation and not exact. We can still conclude that wheels are one of the industries that play a crucial part in our lives, whether we are adults or children.
