Pirelli sees 2009 Europe tyre market down 10 pct-report

MILAN, April 12 (Reuters) - The European tyre market could fall 10 percent this year, with the second and third quarters likely to be crucial, Francesco Gori, chief executive of Pirelli (PECI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) Tyre, said in a newspaper interview.

"This year we estimate a fall of 10 percent in Europe," Gori told Il Giornale newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. "The general halt caused by the crisis in the first quarter will be compensated by... the October to December period," he said. "The second and third quarters will be crucial."

Pirelli Tyre is part of Pirelli & C (PECI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), which also owns real estate interests in its Pirelli RE unit (PCRE.MI: Quote, Profile, Research).

Gori said incentives for car buyers had helped the tyre market, although only 25 percent of Pirelli's sales are new.

Pirelli laid out its plans for the next three years in February including cost cuts and debt reduction [ID:nLB444082]

Gori said the company was focused on that plan and was "looking inside ourselves", when asked whether it might be interested in German rival Continental (CONG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

In February, Pirelli & C Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera said the company could be interested in Continental's tyre business if the price were right, after denying any interest when presenting the three-year plan earlier that month. (Reporting by Jo Winterbottom; editing by Mike Nesbit)