Michel Rollier, Michelin managing partner, keeps a blackened old sock in the drawer of his Paris office. It may never have been worn but the Michelin boss uses it on his trips from the company’s Clermont Ferrand headquarters to shine his shoes before heading into important meetings.

On Wednesday, the shoes may have been gleaming but it was really Michelin’s image he was trying to polish after Mr Rollier confirmed at the Paris motor show that the world’s biggest tyre company would stick to the performance targets set two years ago.