India
Off-highway tyre specialist BKT reassures its partners and customers that, despite the worrying news from India of late, it has worked hard to protect both its workforce and production. In response to the messages of concern the BKT team in India have received from around the world, the tyre maker expresses thankfulness that so many people have been in contact and are worrying about people’s health and safety.
Tyre maker Ceat Limited has raised its shareholding in Indian online tyre retailer Tyresnmore Online Private Limited to 44.17 per cent. Ceat paid Rs 24 million (£234,000) to acquire an additional 3.47 per cent in the company.
Following the inaugural edition in Goa two years back as well as thousands of smaller editions in different locations over the last 24 months, Apollo Tyres’ #BadRoadBuddies concept returns in a digital format. Since most of the activations have moved to the virtual space, the company has also chosen to build the community of enthusiasts online and is opening this event to SUV owners/drivers and the two-wheeler riders, who enjoy drives during the weekend or on leisure/adventure trips.
Apollo Tyres has launched a new tyre range to satisfy demand in India’s fast-growing compact SUV market. The tyre maker says it has introduced the Apollo Apterra Cross following two years of development and testing, and will initially offer the range in five sizes for 16- and 17-inch rim diameters. While Apollo Tyres currently has no plans to bring the Apterra Cross to Europe, it intends to distribute the range in ASEAN and SAARC markets at a later date.
Does the hyper-elasticity of retreaded tyres impact their behavioural quality? Uday Gudsoorkar and Rupa Bindu, two researchers working within the department of mechanical engineering at the Dr DY Patil Institute of Technology in Pune, India sought to answer this question and more by using computer-aided finite element analysis. Their paper “Computer simulation of hyper elastic re-treaded tire rubber with ABAQUS”, which was published in November 2020 in Materials Today: Proceedings used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to measures forces across the tread belt in a compute simulation. These virtual samples were then compared with laboratory examples. According to the paper, the researchers’ findings are “promising to predict the behaviour of re-treaded tyre rubber” and can be “used to improve the product [retreaded truck tyres] and its utility in small tyre re-treaders, customers and policymakers.”
Dutch tyre brand Vredestein is coming to India. During an investor call this month, parent company Apollo Tyres confirmed that Vredestein products are being manufactured in this market and will be introduced locally during the first quarter of 2021.
Tyre maker TVS Srichakra has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of India’s Tamil Nadu state in order to facilitate the investment to expand capacities at its plant in Madurai.
Specialist off-highway tyre maker BKT has gained ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification for the tyre testing and calibration capabilities within the laboratory at its Bhuj plant in India’s Gujarat state. Certification was awarded by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) according to international standards.
Apollo Tyres has unveiled a new eco-oriented tyre developed by its R&D facilities in Europe and India and offering a “best in class rolling resistance coefficient.” The tyre maker says the Apollo Amazer XP complies with BS VI, India’s equivalent of Euro 6 standards, and is electric vehicle ready. Apollo will initially only sell the Amazer XP range in India, including as an original equipment tyre for several vehicles.
According to S&P Global’s CRISIL Ratings, the tyre industry will be one of the few sectors in India where operating profits surpass pre-crisis levels. Examining its rating of the country’s six leading tyre manufacturers, CRISIL forecasts that their operating profit will grow by six to eight per cent in the 2021 fiscal year (1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021), with favourable input prices and higher realisations helping to offset a four to six per cent decline in volumes.
Apollo Tyres is selling car and two-wheeler tyres direct to customers in its domestic market. The company launched its e-commerce portal in India on 22 December, 2020. The site allows consumers to purchase tyres online and book an appointment with Apollo Tyres’ dealer nearest to their location to get the tyres fitted and serviced. The service is initially available in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kochi. Apollo plans to expand the service to other cities across the country.
During the next 18 months, Continental plans to “significantly expand” truck tyre production at its Modipuram, Uttar Pradesh factory in India. The expansion is designed to enable increased export volumes to the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, local news sources reported, citing a Continental statement.
Goodyear has reportedly entered the automotive lubricants segment in India. Goodyear is collaborating with Assurance International, a part of Satya Group, in the venture which focuses on a new line of engine oils that are designed to complement Goodyear’s tyre product portfolio. According to local news sources, the product line includes “greases, brake fluid, transmission oil, tractor oil, diesel exhaust fluid, gear oil and hydraulic oils”.
India’s Ceat Limited is no newcomer to football, having sponsored Italian Serie A club Torino FC since 2018. Nor is the strategic partner to the Indian Premier League cricket cricket series a stranger to sports sponsorship within its homeland. But the tyre maker hasn’t engaged in football in India – until now. Ceat has signed on as the official tyre partner of Jamshedpur FC for the Indian Super League 2020-21.
BKT has set up one of the first-ever contactless E-ICU, COVID-19 treatment facilities to be built in India outside of a hospital. The centre is located at the tyre maker’s Bhuj site, and its doctor and eight healthcare workers are responsible for treating workers and their families affected by coronavirus.
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.
Apollo Tyres
Ivan; Pexels
Apollo