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NR Speculation a Concern in India

An association representing seven of the largest tyre manufacturers in India has expressed concerns that futures market speculation could lead to rising natural rubber prices in the domestic market, forcing manufacturers to become reliant upon imports – as was the situation in December 2006 and January 2007.

While the current domestic market price of rubber in India is Rs84 (£1.03) per kilogram compared with Rs93 (£1.14) a kilogram in the export market, last year tyremakers were forced to import rubber when domestic market prices shot up to Rs100 (£1.23) a kilogram. The director general of India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, D. Ravindran, believes that speculation in the futures market and a resultant decision by rubber growers to hold back their crop in anticipation of higher prices led to this sizeable price increase. “The futures market, driven by speculation, had given wrong signals to the growers that prices would go up by more than Rs120 a kilogram. As a result of this, they held back their stock, creating an artificial shortage,” he stated.

8th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

MRF Tops India OE Tyre Study

(Akron/Tire Review) India’s MRF received the highest customer satisfaction scores in the recent JD Power & Associates Asia Pacific 2007 OE tyre survey.

The study considers new-vehicle buyer perceptions of OE tyre appearance, durability, ride quality, traction and handling.

MRF ranked highest overall, scoring 840 points out of a possible 1,000 points. It marked the fifth time MRF topped the OE study list.

JK Tyre followed in the rankings with 822 points, while Apollo garnered 812 points.

8th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

New Marketing Campaign for Goodyear India

Goodyear India has launched a new marketing campaign centred upon the theme “Take the winning turn” as part of an overall marketing strategy aimed at strengthening its position within India’s consumer replacement market. This campaign kicks off with a new television commercial focusing upon Goodyear’s association with a new movie, Ta Ra Rum Pum, the story of a Nascar driver who fights the odds to become a champion. Goodyear was an obvious choice as a partner in the making of this movie, having been the sole provider of tyre equipment to Nascar since 1997. The company recently signed a deal with Nascar to extend its exclusive association until 2012.

The television commercial, which also emphasises the tyremaker’s 50-year association with Nascar championships, began to be screened in India during the last week of April. The advertisement showcases the “Eagle” range of tyres, which are fitted to Nascar vehicles and in the movie help the star, Saif Ali Khan, to become a champion driver. Products from the Eagle range are available in India both as replacement market tyres and as OE for some premium models, such as all Mercedes Benz cars sold in India.

8th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyrepress Asia – News With an Asian Emphasis

Tyrepress Asia, sister publication to Tyres & Accessories and NEUE REIFENZEITUNG, is very pleased to announce the launch of its new website Tyrepress Asia and associated e-Newsletter. Based upon the successful format established by Tyres & Accessories and Neue Reifenzeitung’s UK and European e-Newsletters, the Tyrepress Asia e-Newsletter is specifically tailored to provide news and articles from our online publication that are of particular relevance to the Asia and Pacific regions. Our regular newsletter is the only English language tyre industry news source to exclusively cover news and developments from Russia and China down to Australia and New Zealand and from India across the Pacific Rim, and its online format ensures our reports will reach their intended audience while still fresh and newsworthy.

Each year a greater proportion of the world tyre parc is produced in Asia, and companies within the region are increasingly looking to become established global brands. This is a time of rapid growth within the region’s tyre industry and an exciting time to be involved in the business. Therefore it is essential to remain informed of decisions made by both today and tomorrow’s leading players in Asia.

For a limited time Tyrepress Asia is offering free subscriptions to their e-Newsletter and newly launched website Tyrepress Asia– a website where tyre professionals from around the globe can obtain unrestricted access to the latest information coming from Asia’s tyre industry and markets. Produced by experienced industry journalists, the website contains news, feature articles and downloads designed to keep the reader informed. If you conduct business in the Asia and Pacific regions, or simply have an interest in keeping informed about developments in these and coming markets, then Tyrepress Asia invites you to visit our website or click here to obtain your free subscription.

26th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Shows Interest in China

Ceat, India’s fourth largest tyre manufacturer, has its eye on acquiring or entering into a partnership with a tyremaker in China. Such a move would benefit Ceat considerably, and the company believes that the additional capacity this would bring, along with removing bottlenecks in supply and improving the company’s product mix, enable Ceat to place a greater focus upon exports and increase both volume of production and profit margins.

Arnab Banerjee, the company’s vice-president of sales and marketing said “China provides a big opportunity. We may look at options for a possible partnership or even an acquisition.” A presence in China would provide Ceat with a foothold in a market undergoing even more dynamic changes than India. China is currently the world’s largest producer of tyres, with more than 4.5 million tonnes of rubber utilised last year.

24th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ceat Identified as Strong in OTR Sector

The online stock broking firm India Infoline has recommended Ceat Ltd as a recommended buy only a day or so after making a similar recommendation regarding Apollo Tyre. India Infoline describe Ceat as a ‘diversified tyre major’ who is ‘ramping up its production facilities to benefit from the uptrend in [the] automobile industry,’ and claims the tyremaker has plans in the pipeline that will see its OTR capacity more than doubled from 40,000 to 100,000 units per year.

Tyres & Accessories has previously reported on the company’s intention to establish three new greenfield facilities, one of which would function as a ‘speciality tyre’ plant for OTR tyres. In addition to OTR investment Ceat intends to spend Rs200 million (£2.4 million) upgrading its passenger car tyre production facilities and increasing output in this segment.

19th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo a Recommended Buy – Broker

The online stock broking firm India Infoline has indicated that Apollo Tyres is a prudent share purchase, and has placed a recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 397 (£4.74). India Infoline describes Apollo as the leading commercial vehicle tyre player in India and adds that the company is expanding at a rapid pace, both organically and inorganically. The brokerage firm expects Apollo’s topline and bottom line to grow by 14.3 per cent and 26.2 per cent respectively between the 2006 and 2009 financial years.

Apollo is expanding passenger car tyre capacity by 1,100,000 units and light commercial tyre capacity by 100,000 units by the end of the 2007 financial year, increasing total production to 410 tonnes per day. To add to the tyremaker’s sharemarket desirability, Apollo have also recently commenced production of its Dura Tyre range of retreads, scheduled for initial launch in northern India in May 2007.

17th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Metamorphosis

India’s tyre industry is steadily coming of age. In a country whose new car market has witnessed phenomenal changes since the days when consumer choice was more or less restricted to what colour Hindustan Ambassador one would purchase, the tyres made and sold have also needed to change with the times, both in quantity and quality.

Figures released by India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) report steady growth in tyre production figures across all market segments, with an overall 12 per cent growth to January 2007, with approximately 61 million tyres produced during the preceding 12 months. During February 2007 alone 5.9 million tyres were produced, with 1.18 million of these for passenger cars. And although other segments showed even greater growth – tractor tyre sales in February were on average more than 25 per cent greater than a year earlier – the passenger car market seems to be where all the action is taking place.

13th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Tyres Begins Retread Production

Apollo’s first DuraTyre branded retread rolled off the production line at the company’s Gurgaon, Haryana, greenfield site. According to an Apollo statement, the tyre marks the first time that a branded retread has been produced at a Greenfield site in India. The commercial launch is scheduled for May 2007. This makes Apollo Tyres the only Indian tyre Chairman & Managing Director of Apollo Tyres Ltd, Mr Onkar S Kanwar, said: “We have made a beginning here and by the end of the year we are targeting a four-fold increase in production. In three year’s time, we are looking at a turnover of 5 billion rupees from DuraTyre. It is a hasslefree, ready-made product for customers looking at retreading as an option. This is also the right time to introduce this product given the time constraints our commercial vehicle customers operate under, the increased use of multi-axle vehicles and our improved highway infrastructure.”

13th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Positive Feedback from Automechanika Asia

Major Southeast Asian automotive parts and equipment exhibition Automechanika Asia has been staged for the fifth time, and has been praised as a great success. At least 5,480 buyers from 60 countries and regions visited the exhibition, held at the new Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre between 29 March and 1 April 2007. While the majority of the visitors were from Malaysia, the exhibition also attracted many attendees from other Asian countries, most notably China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The organisers of the exhibition report that attendee feedback was very favourable, with most exhibitors responding positively to the high quality and professionalism of the buyers onsite.

As part of the Automechanika global group of trade fairs, Automechanika Asia offers a professional forum where automotive industry suppliers and buyers can meet, create partnerships and build their business in the booming ASEAN region. A total of 151 exhibitors from 18 countries & regions joined the show, including those from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK.

12th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti Buys Controlling Stake in Matador Rubber

Continental AG, Hanover, is set to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the rubber business of Matador Group, Puchov, Slovakia, subject to the approval of antitrust authorities. There has been no official confirmation of the financial details involved, but a possible 150 million euro price-tag has been circulating for some time. Continental plans to integrate Matador into its brand portfolio and invest in expanding annual production from 5.5 to over 7 million passenger car and light truck tyres.

As a result of the deal, the Matador machinery factory in Puchov will be integrated into the machinery factory in Hanover-Stöcken as a second pillar. On top of that, Continental will gain addition research and development capacity.

11th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyrepress Asia – News with an Asian Emphasis

Tyrepress Asia, sister publication to Tyres & Accessories and NEUE REIFENZEITUNG, is very pleased to announce the launch of its new website Tyrepress Asia and associated e-Newsletter. Based upon the successful format established by Tyres & Accessories and Neue Reifenzeitung’s UK and European e-Newsletters, the Tyrepress Asia e-Newsletter is specifically tailored to provide news and articles from our online publication that are of particular relevance to the Asia and Pacific regions. Our regular newsletter is the only English language tyre industry news source to exclusively cover news and developments from Russia and China down to Australia and New Zealand and from India across the Pacific Rim, and its online format ensures our reports will reach their intended audience while still fresh and newsworthy.

Each year a greater proportion of the world tyre parc is produced in Asia, and companies within the region are increasingly looking to become established global brands. This is a time of rapid growth within the region’s tyre industry and an exciting time to be involved in the business. Therefore it is essential to remain informed of decisions made by both today and tomorrow’s leading players in Asia.

For a limited time Tyrepress Asia is offering free subscriptions to their e-Newsletter and newly launched website Tyrepress Asia– a website where tyre professionals from around the globe can obtain unrestricted access to the latest information coming from Asia’s tyre industry and markets. Produced by experienced industry journalists, the website contains news, feature articles and downloads designed to keep the reader informed. If you conduct business in the Asia and Pacific regions, or simply have an interest in keeping informed about developments in these and coming markets, then Tyrepress Asia invites you to visit our website or click here to obtain your free subscription.

4th April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

India’s BEML to Produce OTR Tyres With Apollo & JK Tyres

India’s Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) has announced its intention to diversify into the manufacture of OE and replacement market OTR tyres for mining applications. Along with its major customer, Coal India, BEML will work on this venture jointly with Apollo Tyres and JK Tyres. The OTR section is seen as a highly attractive market segment in India due to the larger profit margins offered compared with passenger car and truck tyres. Furthermore, at present 80 per cent of the OTR tyres sold in India are imported.

3rd April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

India’s First BMW Plant Inaugurated

The first BMW factory constructed in India was officially inaugurated on March 29. Norbert Reithofer, BMW AG executive board chairman, was present at the Chennai facility for the occasion, and inspected a number of 3 Series saloons built at the factory since production began in February.

According to Reithofer, BMW expects to sell more than 1,000 cars in India during 2007 and has a medium term sales goal of 1,500 vehicles. In addition to the 3 Series the new factory will also produce the larger 5 Series, commencing in May. All cars rolling of the assembly line in Chennai are destined for the Indian market.

2nd April 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Synthetic Rubber – Cheaper but Inferior

The latest rubber consumption data from India suggest that high natural rubber prices are causing tyremakers to increase the percentage of synthetic rubber used in their products. Statistics for the period between April and December 2006, in comparison to the same months the previous year, show a 15 per cent growth in synthetic rubber consumption. This contrasts with the much smaller 2.35 increase in the consumption of natural rubber recorded during the same period.

In Europe, the established natural rubber/synthetic rubber ratio is 80:20. This is mainly due to the superior vulcanising qualities of natural rubber, an important consideration in truck and OTR tyres. Indian tyre manufacturers have previously reported that their optimum natural/synthetic rubber ratio is 78:22, but in recent months it appears that this ratio has been stretched to 70:30, about the maximum technically feasible.

30th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors