Chinese tyres drive 12% increase in imports into India

Tyre imports into India grew 12 per cent in the 2016 financial year, reports ICRA. The India-based ratings agency, which is majority owned by Moody’s Investor Service, comments that this growth was driven by an “unabated flow of cheaper Chinese tyres in the truck and bus radial, passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments.” The 12 per cent increase witnessed in the 12 months to 31 March 2016 followed a 17 per cent rise in imports the previous year.

Based on the results of its research, ICRA anticipates that tyre imports won’t have any significant impact on the “brand and consumer-centric” passenger vehicle segment, however it doesn’t see the “pain in the TBR segment” easing over the medium-term unless “stringent corrective actions are undertaken by regulatory authorities” to curb the influx of cheap imported truck and bus radials. “While the overall quantum and the proportionate share of TBR Imports is much lower than the peaks of FY2011, when the domestic market was reeling under TBR capacity constraint, (the) impact of imports is likely to be more severe during the current phase as several large domestic tyre makers have invested close to Rs. 350 billion (£3.9 billion) in TBR capacities over the last five to six years,” writes ICRA.