New Apollo Factory to Reach Peak Capacity by Mid-2010

Apollo Tyres’ new Rs 20 billion (£257 million) facility in India’s Chennai state is expected to be operational from the start of December, and the company states the plant should attain a peak daily capacity of 14,000 tyres by the middle of next year. Of this total, commented the company on November 8, 8,000 will be passenger car radials and 6,000 truck and bus radials.

The Hindu Business Line reported Apollo vice chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar as saying the company would begin exports of Apollo branded tyres to Europe from India early next year. Kanwar also stated that Apollo will soon increase its prices in response to rising raw material costs – current prices of Rs 120 (£1.54) a kilogram are “unreasonable”, he noted. Despite everything becoming a little more expensive, the vice chairman and managing director anticipates overall sales to grow in double-digit figures during the current fiscal year.