Answer: The LEGO Group

If you go out and check the tires on your car you’ll likely see a well known tire manufacturer’s name written on the sidewall: Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear–the heavyweights of automotive tire production. Unless your car is 1:50 scale and sitting on your desk, however, the chances of you seeing the name of the world’s most prolific tire maker is zero.

In 2011 The LEGO Group, producers of all things LEGO, rolled a whopping 381 million tires off their assembly lines making them world’s largest tire producer. Never mind that the tires are all 4.2 inches or smaller in diameter; diminutive or not they’re still rubber tires. The massive output of 381 million tires puts The LEGO group’s output at twice that of the next largest tire producer in the world (Bridgestone with 190 million tires in 2011).

The LEGO Group has been producing tires since 1962 when they introduced Set No. 400–a wheel and axle set–that sold 820,000 units. The rubber tires proved popular as a stand alone expansion and were quickly introduced into full sets. At present almost half of all LEGO sets produced include LEGO tires.