Not if, when: Vredestein still set to enter the European motorcycle tyre segment

After entering the motorcycle tyre business in its home country of India a good two years earlier, tyremaker Apollo Tyres announced at the end of 2018 that it also wants to bring Vredestein brand motorcycle tyres to the European market. Indeed, at the beginning of 2020, the first tyre lines for local regions were presented with the names “Centauro ST” and “Centauro Road” together with the scooter tyre “Staccata”, whereby at the same time a special two-wheel TPMS (tyre pressure control system) was promised. But after that, talk relating to Vredestein motorcycle tyres went quiet until Apollo Tyres confirmed to our colleagues at our German sister publication Neue ReifenZeitung that the company has decided “due to the high demand for motorcycle tyres in the Indian market and (…) limited production capacities” to “sell motorcycle tyres to be suspended in Europe for the time being”. That was the state of affairs at the end of last year. But what about today? During the launch of Apollo’s new “EnduMile LHT” long-distance trailer tyre, Yves Pouliquen, head of sales and marketing at Apollo Tyres Europe answered the question.

According to Pouliquen, in view of the scarce (production) capacities, there have been no changes in the meantime: “We are now hoping for the next round of investments”. However, he also clarified that postponement does not mean cancellation. In other words, Apollo is sticking to its plans to bring Vredestein motorcycle tyres into the European market.

“But there is currently no specific time frame for this,” explained Pouliquen, which means the only question is when, not whether. In this context, he nevertheless points out that the company has not completely stopped its own motorcycle activities in Europe, but on the contrary, corresponding two-wheeler tyres are being tested further in and for the local market (in Sicily/Italy). After all, this market segment is an interesting one – not only because of the higher margins compared to other product types. After all, anyone who rides a motorcycle usually also owns a car that needs tyres, so that positive effects can be expected for their own car tiye business.

In all of this, Pouliquen describes the biker clientele, who the company one day wants to win over for themselves and their products in Europe, as technically adept and interested. This should not least be one of the reasons why – when the greenlight finally comes – we will of course start with a completely new generation of motorcycle tyres and not with the profiles presented at the beginning of 2020. This is especially the case since product cycles in the two-wheeler tyre segment are a lot shorter than for car tyres, for example. Against the background of all this, he once again reiterates the rightness of the decision to suspend the sale of Vredestein motorcycle tyres in Europe for the time being and initially for a little longer, until a corresponding availability of motorcycle tyres can be guaranteed in local regions.

“The demand in the Indian market is so great that we would not have had enough products for Europe. Especially when you come to the market with new products, something like that doesn’t work. In this respect, the only option left was to stop in Europe,” Yves Pouliquen concluded.