Metro Tyres Expanding Capacity to Meet Growing Two-Wheeler Demand

India’s Metro Tyres is reportedly increasing its annual motorcycle tyre production capacity to 1.8 million units. According to the Press Trust of India, the company will invest Rs 500 million (₤7.2 million) in its Ludhiana, Punjab state plant, where capacity for tyres manufactured as part of a technical collaboration with Continental AG is currently 600,000 tyres per year. Expansion work is anticipated to be completed by April.

“We have committed an investment of Rs 50 crore (₤7.2 million) for increasing capacity at our motorcycle tyre plant to 1.5 lakh (150,000) a month, from the existing 50,000 units. The plant at Ludhiana will achieve the new capacity next month,” Metro Tyres managing director Rummy Chhabra told PTI. He added that this investment is being made from the company’s internal accrual. “The market for bike tyres is growing at a phenomenal double digit rate and we want to capitalise on it. The target will be mainly the domestic after-market,” Chhabra continued.

Metro Tyres operates six plants, which produce a total of 100,000 two and three-wheeler tyres per day. The company also intends to expand its dealer network: “We will add another 1,000 dealers by end of March 2011, to our existing strength of 3,000. This is intended to further augment our network nationwide,” Chhabra said.