Leveraging its association with the sporting legend, Sachin Tendulkar, Apollo Tyres has launched a corporate advertising campaign called: “Ganga: the River of People”. The campaign covers television, digital, print and cinema mediums. Indian musical director, composer, musician and singer, A R Rahman has specially composed and sung a song for this television commercial (TVC).
Riders in the UK and Europe will encounter a new brand of motorcycle tyre later this year, a brand with its sights set on the big players. Entering a hotly-contested market poses a sizable challenge, but the newcomer has several aces up its sleeve. Not only is it produced by a major tyre maker that is already established in Europe, anyone who’s ever shopped for car tyres will find the brand reassuringly familiar.
In addition to his existing remit as chief quality & business excellence officer, Pedro Matos has now taken on the added responsibility of leading Apollo Tyres’ original equipment strategy and sales for passenger car tyres in Europe.
Extending its sports sponsorship engagement beyond football, Apollo Tyres has entered into a five-year agreement with former Indian international cricketer and team captain Sachin Tendulkar. This is the first time an individual celebrity has served as Apollo brand ambassador.
Sales and profits were higher year-on-year during the second quarter of Apollo Tyres’ 2018-29 financial year. The company reports a 23 per cent rise in sales, to Rs 41.92 billion (£447.8 million) in the three months to 30 September 2019. Operating profit rose 25 per cent during the quarter, to Rs 4.80 billion (£51.5 million), while net profit was, at Rs 1.46 billion (£15.6 million), four per cent higher than a year earlier.
Following internal discussions and review of a commissioned report produced by Ernst & Young, the Nominations & Remuneration Committee (NRC) within the Board of Directors at Apollo Tyres Ltd. has recommended changes to the compensation packages Onkar and Neeraj Kanwar receive from the company.
In its 2018 Autumn Imperial Decorations, the Government of Japan has conferred upon Onkar S Kanwar the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. The chairman of Apollo Tyres Ltd. received this recognition for his contributions towards strengthening the economic relations between Japan and India, and for promoting Japanese company’s entry into the Indian market.
Apollo Tyres will present its new radial motorcycle tyre at the EICMA show in Milan, which opens to the public tomorrow. Although the Apollo Alpha-H1 is currently only available in India, it is nevertheless of interest to us as Apollo Tyres confirms that “preparations are now underway to further develop and tune the technology for Europe.” Furthermore, the introduction of two-wheeler tyres in Europe will be facilitated by new development and test facilities within the region.
Hungary has bestowed the Officers Cross (Civilian Division) of the ‘Order of Merit’ upon Onkar S Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Tyres Ltd. This award was conferred in recognition of Kanwar’s work towards strengthening Hungarian-Indian economic relations through the company’s investment in Hungary.
A promotion for Benoit Rivallant. After serving as group head of global product management for commercial vehicles and OTR tyres at Apollo Tyres since August 2014, Rivallant has been tapped to succeed Mathias Heimann as president of Apollo Tyres’ European Operations.
Production of truck tyres for the European market has commenced at the Apollo Tyres plant in Gyöngyöshalász, Hungary. The tyre maker shares that the first examples of these tyres, Apollo EnduRace RT HD trailer tyres in size 385/65 R22.5, have been shipped to a transport company in Belgium. British customers will receive their Apollo tyres through Treadsetters, who earlier this year was chosen to sell and distribute the Apollo truck and bus tyre range across England, Scotland and Wales.
With the introduction of a new winter tyre, Apollo Tyres now offers some 60 winter products. The latest addition to the tyre maker’s cold weather portfolio is the Apollo Aspire XP Winter, which is being rolled out in 23 sizes to cover most popular fitments.
With the ramp-up of its plant in Hungary, Apollo Tyres Ltd. is growing in Europe. The company also has ambitious plans in its home market of India – it aims to become the country’s leading tyre maker, and is investing to do so. Total investments over the period between 2015 and 2021 approach £900 million.
Truck tyre production at Apollo Tyres’ factory in Gyöngyöshalász, Hungary will begin before the end of September. According to Gaurav Kumar, chief financial officer of Apollo Tyres Ltd., production is scheduled to start during the July to September quarter and the ramp-up of truck tyre production will then continue and reach a maximum capacity of 1,200 pieces per day by the end of March next year.
During a conference call held this month, the chief financial officer of Apollo Tyres Ltd. confirmed that passenger car tyre production at the Apollo Vredestein plant in Enschede, the Netherlands would be reduced as capacity for these products grows in the company’s new, more cost-competitive facility in Gyöngyöshalász, Hungary. However, this trend shouldn’t be seen as a transfer of capacity, as the plan for Enschede going forwards is for its continued utilisation, with greater emphasis placed upon other segments.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
