New Continental facility meeting growing Indian demand for premium tyres

With the promise of “German engineering and technology”, adapted for local market performance requirements, Continental has launched two premium passenger car tyre lines in the Indian market. The ContiMaxContact MC5 and ContiComfortContact CC5 are being produced at a new, state-of-the-art passenger car and light truck tyre facility at the company’s Modipuram plant. The newly-built facility has an initial capacity of 800,000 tyres per annum, with potential for further expansion.

“Continental is known for both its German engineering and high technological expertise in the production of high performance tyres globally, which is confirmed by its significant presence in the original equipment business for the premium passenger cars and a high share in the replacement market, too,” stated Nikolai Setzer, head of Continental’s Tires division. “Investing into production capacities is part of our global strategy Vision 2025 to further improve our global manufacturing footprint and expand business in growing markets, such as India. Altogether, Continental has invested more than €2 billion into the construction of new production facilities, for example in Russia, China and the US alongside to the extension of the existing plants since 2011. Now we are more than happy to present our production facility in India for radial car tyres.”

Local staff at the expanded Modipuram plant have been trained by colleagues from international production sites, and more than 100 employees were trained in radial tyre production and technology at Continental sites in Germany, Romania, China and Malaysia prior to the start of the new ranges’ series production in India.

“It is a great occasion for us to launch our new tyre lines – ContiMaxContact MC5 and ContiComfortContact CC5 – in India, which is a market with promising future growth potential. The new tyre lines have been especially designed for the Asia Pacific region and are further customised for delivering the required performance to Indian car drivers. Manufactured in our Indian plant and distributed through our Indian market organisation, these new tyre lines will help Continental become a partner of choice for both the tyre replacement and original equipment business,” stated António Lopes Seabra, executive vice-president and head of the Replacement Asia Pacific PLT business unit at Continental.

“The profile of passenger cars in India is changing rapidly in parallel to the continuous introduction of new models and upgraded variants by global car manufacturers. In line with that, also the requirements of tyre performance characteristics are increasing. Based on our technological leadership approach we are aiming to fully meet these challenges and deliver premium products which are also delivering premium performance. The design of the new MC5 and CC5 is based on deep market study, advanced engineering and intense testing at our global R&D centre,” remarked Edwin Goudswaard, director of research and development at Continental’s Replacement Asia-Pacific PLT business unit.

Continental estimates the current annual volume of the Indian passenger car and light truck tyre replacement market to be around 14 million tyres a year, and this is expected to increase to more than 30 million tyres by 2025; the premium tyre segment holds around 28 per cent of the total segment replacement market volume. The tyre maker says its new premium tyre lines target premium customers who demand performance across all passenger car and SUV segments, from compact to executive vehicles. Continental has already established a network of more than 425 dealers, with around 30 aligned branded shops spread across all major cities in India. The network is being further expanded to ensure the availability of products and services across the entire country.

CC5 & MC5

The ContiComfortContact CC5 is designed for fitment on compact and mid-sized passenger cars. It features a silica compound and the tyre is said to generate very little road noise. Other stated qualities are “leading braking performance on wet and dry surfaces” and “one of the most comfortable drives in its class.”

The ContiMaxContact MC5 is dedicated to the high end mid-size and executive passenger car segment. The tyre features an asymmetrical tread pattern, chamfered blocks, new activated silica compound technology, and a design that facilitates low noise, vibration and harshness performance – the so called noise breaker. “These features ensure that the tyre delivers excellent high speed handling and best braking performance under wet and dry conditions as well as a low noise level, high grip and maximum comfort,” reports Continental.