Bridgestone and MRF have tied for first place in JD Power’s latest India Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (TCSI) Study. However, while they both ranked first in overall customer satisfaction, scoring 881. Bridgestone performed well in terms of ride (883) and MRF performed particularly well in appearance (884). Apollo came third, with JK Tyre fourth and Goodyear in fifth.
Apollo Tyres has appointed Steven Smidlein as the senior vice president for North America. This new role will be based in the firm’s New Jersey office and will see Smidlein reporting to Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and managing director, Apollo Tyres Ltd. An OE specialist, with previous experience at Goodyear, Steven Smidlein has spent most of his career working in various executive roles for car makers such as Chrysler, Honda and Accura in the US. According to the Apollo, Smidlein’s latest role sees him take responsibility for ”building the brand and sales in North America for both, Apollo and Vredestein”.
Along with Nokian’s admission and apology for “mistakes” in its practices concerning tyre tests, the Finnish tyre manufacturer stated that “several operators in the field… have been suspected or evidence has been presented against them of differences between tyres in magazine tests and tyres that are for sale in stores.” After the Nokian statement’s implication of other tyre manufacturers in malpractice regarding independent tyre testing, Michelin immediately responded by stating categorically that it has “never designed or manufactured tyres specifically for tests conducted by the media, automobile associations or any other organisations.” Tyres & Accessories approached 11 more of the world’s leading manufacturers, many of whose products regularly appear in magazine tests, for their response to the question: Have you ever designed or manufactured tyres specifically for tests conducted by the media, automobile associations or any other organisations? Listed below are their responses.
In the three months to 31 December 2015 – the third quarter of its 2015-16 financial year – Apollo Tyres achieved sales of Rs 29.29 billion (£298.0 million), 3.7 per cent less than a year earlier. Third quarter EBITDA stood at Rs 5.12 billion (£52.1 million), up 2.0 per cent year-on-year, while net profit rose 51.6 per cent to at Rs 2.79 billion (£28.4 million).
At its Board of Directors meeting on 9 February, Apollo Tyres Ltd confirmed the appointment of Francesco Gori as an additional, non-independent company director. Mr Gori, who served as chief executive officer of Pirelli Tyre between 2006 and 2012, joined Apollo Tyres as advisor for strategy in October 2015. Vinod Rai, the former comptroller and auditor general of India, was also appointed an additional, independent director of Apollo Tyres during the meeting, and approval was given for a change in Robert Steinmetz’s directorship status.
The establishment of dual-branded Apollo Manchester United ‘Go The Distance’ community pitches was said to be a key part of Apollo’s Man U sponsorship when it began back in August 2013. The first such pitch was officially opened a year after the relationship began just outside the h
Apollo Tyres Ltd reports that Standard & Poor’s company CRISIL has upgraded its long-term rating on the Bank facilities and other debt programmes of the Company from “CRISIL AA/Positive” to “CRISIL AA+/Stable” and reaffirmed its short-term rating as “CRISIL A1+”.
Apollo Tyres Ltd has confirmed that tyre production at its Oragadam, near Chennai factory has been disrupted by heavy rain and flooding in the area.
Apollo Tyres’ takeover of reifencom GmbH, operator of e-commerce sites in six European countries, has been described as part of the company’s strategy to expand its retail network in the European market. Apollo said its takeover will allow it to support the expansion activities of its subsidiary Apollo Vredestein, which include major investments in the European premium brand Vredestein. The company stated that it has major plans for growth via an expansion of its original equipment activities – the groundwork for which is being laid via the current construction of a new plant in Hungary.
In April 2015 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two men, long-time friends Amit Kanodia and Iftikar Ahmed, after the pair illegally profited from inside information related to Apollo Tyres’ plan to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber in 2013. Kanodia, whose wife held the post of general counsel at Apollo Tyres prior to the deal’s announcement and was privy to highly confidential information, also shared details with others. A further ‘close friend’, Steven C. Watson, is now the subject of a further case being pursued by the SEC. The US federal agency submitted its case against Watson to the United States District Court in the District of Massachusetts on 17 November.
Apollo Tyres Ltd has announced its acquisition of tyre wholesaler and online retailer Reifen.com GmbH. The German company changed hands for €45.6 million and, according to Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and managing director of Apollo Tyres, the purchase of Reifen.com represents a “strategic fit in further growing our European business.
Having reduced a field of 51 to 19, Auto Bild announced that three of the winter tyres tested had made it all the way to the top of the German magazine’s rankings, picking up “exemplary” ratings. Continental’s WinterContact TS 850, Pirelli’s Winter Snowcontrol Serie 3, and the Barum Polaris 3 were the best performers, according to Auto Bild’s testers, who ranked the tyres based on their performance on snowy, wet and dry roads and their cost. The tests were performed on a VW Polo, with the tyres sized 185/60R15 T.
Apollo Tyres has appointed former Pirelli CEO Francesco Gori as its new advisor for strategy. Part of Apollo Tyres’ management board, Gori will support the company in its goal of international growth, identification and development of new opportunities.
Apollo recently opened two Apollo Zone branded retail outlets- in Amman, Jordan. While one of the Apollo Zones was inaugurated by HE Anil Trigunayat, Ambassador of India to Jordan, the other one was inaugurated by Sujay Srivastava, head, Apollo Tyres Middle East and the Proprietor, The Ideal for Import and Export, Wael Qawasmi.
The Apollo tyre brand currently holds an approximate five per cent share in Thailand’s passenger car radial replacement market (excluding the one-ton pickup segment), but Apollo Tyres Thailand is expecting “high double-digit growth” going forward. To facilitate further sales, the company now offers a two year unconditional warranty on its entire passenger car tyre range sold in Thailand.
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