Michelin to Open India Factory Within 3 Years, says Rollier

India’s commercial vehicle radial market has long been a sleeping giant, and Michelin is determined to be around when it wakes up. Comments made by group managing partner Michel Rollier point to the company’s eagerness to set up its new factory there within a short timeframe.

“We hope the factory will open within three years,” Rollier told Europe 1 radio. Production at the new facility will focus upon truck and heavy engineering tyres, a sector “where the Indian market is promising and we are virtually absent.” Rollier added “we don’t want to miss the take-off of the Indian market.”

The Economic Times, India’s largest financial daily, reports Michelin will invest around Rs 70 billion (£887 million) in this market over the next ten years. While Rollier refrained from confirming any exact figure, he admitted that “for a big factory, it’s not far from that.” The plant, to be built in Tamil Nadu state, will employ between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs.

News of investment in India first made headlines days after cutbacks in France were announced. Rollier denied that Michelin’s plans would lead to a transfer of production from France to India; the company was, he said, investing in the manufacture of similar products in its home market. The group managing partner further defended Michelin’s decision to invest in this growth market, commenting “one billion euros over 10 years is less than what we invest in France.”