Who Actually Makes Michelin's Pickup Truck Bed Mats? Hint: It's Not Michelin

French tiremaker Michelin is renowned for its top-rated all-weather tires, rugged yet refined all-terrain tires, and comprehensive warranties, including 3-year roadside assistance and a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. Michelin is also the owner of tire brands like BFGoodrich and Uniroyal and has even delved into the vehicle accessories and lifestyle market with Michelin-branded work boots, tire inflators, pressure washers, snow chains, floor mats, and truck bed mats. However, this doesn't mean Michelin is now a bootmaker or an electronics manufacturer.

For instance, the Michelin work boots are made by Rocky Brands and are available at the Georgia Boot online store. Unsurprisingly, Georgia Boot is under the Rocky Brands umbrella, which encompasses other footwear brands such as Durango and Rocky Boots. As for the floor mats and truck bed mats, it would be straightforward to assume that Michelin makes them, since the brand is an industry expert in rubber materials. However, you'd be wrong. As it turns out, Michelin has officially authorized Tread Auto to manufacture custom-fit floor mats, floor liners, trunk mats, and tailgate protectors. As for where the products are made, they're sadly not made in the U.S.

We dug around and found out that, according to Tread Auto's reply to a forum question at F150Gen14.com, their liners and bed mats are actually made in China, although the products were developed under Michelin's strict quality standards. They added that the tread pattern design on its liners and truck bed mats was inspired by the treads on actual Michelin tires, which the forum poster suggested is why Michelin bed mats and floor liners are grippy and more efficient in channeling dirt, mud, snow, and water.

Instead of pure rubber, Michelin bed mats and liners are made from thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), a material that typically combines rubber and plastic attributes, which also means the material feels like rubber but is recyclable like plastic. It's also easy to clean and protects against scratches, wear, and UV exposure. Tread Auto claims its products were made using blue laser scanning to offer custom-made fitments for Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Hyundai, and Tesla trucks. It's all about fitment and quality, and it seems Michelin bed mats are on the right track to fortify the durability and performance that buyers expect from the brand, even though the products are not made by Michelin at all.