Indian CV tyre radialisation may reach 40% in two years

A number of Indian tyre makers have shared their views on commercial vehicle radialisation with the Financial Chronicle. Estimates of current radialisation levels within this sector vary between 18 and 24 per cent, and all who spoke to the newspaper believe the radial to cross-ply ratio will change dramatically in the coming years.

“With improving infrastructure, there is an immense growth potential for radialisation in the truck and bus segment in India,” Abhijit Bakre, country marketing manager at Michelin India told the Financial Chronicle. “With customers demanding more efficient logistics and supply chain, local and global players have been encouraged to enter the market with better offerings. Radial tyres not only run longer, but also reduce downtime, thereby giving increased efficiency but also saves fuel reducing the “cost per kilometre. This tangible benefit to the customers will encourage the shift from nylon tyres to radial tyres very soon,” said Abhijit Bakre, country marketing manager, Michelin India.

“Radialisation in the commercial vehicle segment is currently around 20 to 22 per cent and is largely being spearheaded by the OEMs,” added Satish Sharma, chief – India Operations, Apollo Tyres. “Our experience says that, radialisation is happening more with those end-users, who are also interested in getting retread life from the tyres. Over the past few years, OEMs have introduced newer and advanced models like the multi-axle vehicles in the market. These modern automobiles are built to be more compatible with radial tyres. Add to that the keenness of both automotive and tyre manufacturers towards adapting radial technology, has resulted in a stronger push towards radialisation.”

Ceat deputy managing director Anand Goenka stated: “Radialisation is picking up pretty fast this year due to large capacities set up in the past one and half years. Radialisation is somewhere around 18-20 per cent now. With capacities going up so high for all tyre OEMs, this should accelerate going forward and increase it to 30-40 per cent in about two years time.”