François Michelin, who led the company that bears his family name and helped make the radial tire the worldwide standard, has died. He was 88.

His death was announced on Wednesday by the Michelin Group. A company spokeswoman said she could provide no further details.

The Michelin company began as a small family industrial firm, rising to prominence in the late 19th century, at the dawn of the automobile era, when it started producing pneumatic tires designed by Mr. Michelin’s grandfather, Édouard.

When François Michelin took over as co-managing partner in 1955, the company ranked only 10th among the world’s tire makers. But it was beginning to reap the benefits of its introduction in the 1940s of a major innovation, the Michelin “X” radial.