India
Titan International’s final injury hearing before the US International Trade Commission (ITC) took place on 4 January, and today the company will file a post hearing brief. The off-road tyre specialist says it “remains optimistic” that the ITC will issue a final affirmative determination in these cases.
Ceat, the Indian tyre manufacturer, has announced plans to increase production of truck and bus, passenger car and two-wheeler tyres. According to local news sources, the company said it will invest approximately 2,800 crore rupees over a five-year period leading up to 2022.
Numerous media outlets in India have reported the arrest of Pawan Ruia, chairman of the Ruia Group of companies, whose assets include in-liquidation tyre maker Dunlop India Ltd. Ruia was arrested on Friday in response to a complaint of cheating and criminal breach of trust filed against him by Indian Railways. He is currently in the custody of West Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department.
MRF Tyre has confirmed it will exhibit at Tyre & Rubber Indonesia 2017 from 29 March – 1 April 2017 at JIExpo Kemayoran Jakarta, Indonesia.
After the announcement of the launch of Point S in Malaysia, Point S has expanded further into Asia, namely India. Point S concept will be implemented in India through Master Franchise Agreements with three regional partners who will be covering 5 of the most dynamic States: Deviate Enterprises for the Nation Capital Territory of Delhi and Punjab; GIAAN International for Maharashtra and Goa; and Tyrekada for Kerala.
The recent launch of Point S in Malaysia has been followed by the tyre retail chain’s entry into a further market within the region. The rollout of Point S in India will be implemented through Master Franchise Agreements, with three regional partners covering the five Indian states that Point S considers the “most dynamic.”
Apollo Tyres is reportedly investing in a new two wheel and light truck tyre factory in Andhra Pradesh. The news followed the publication of the company’s second quarter results.
A new range of anti-puncture motorcycle tyres from Ceat Ltd. has been introduced in India. The Hindu Business Line states that the manufacturer is rolling out these products in the south of India and will gradually introduce the range into other parts of the country. Ceat is initially targeting the aftermarket as, so reports Nitish Bajaj, the company’s vice-president of marketing, OEMs are “price sensitive and take time to decide on anything new.”
Despite being a latecomer to India’s truck and bus radial (TBR) tyre market, Apollo Tyres says it currently produces one in every four TBR tyres sold in the country. The tyre maker has now stated its intention to “move from leadership to dominance in the fast-growing TBR segment,” and aims to achieve this dominance through capacity increases scheduled to kick in before the end of this year and by introducing several new product lines.
BFGoodrich Tires has launched its truck and bus tyres in the Middle East and Africa. The range includes highway, regional and on/off-road applications. According to the company, BFGoodrich will initially offer the Route Control tyre for regional and highway use and the Cross Control for on- and off-road use. The Route Control will be available in 14 sizes and the Cross Control will be available in five sizes. Both are mainly manufactured in Europe.
Radialisation of the truck tyre segment in India has been a major subject over the past decade, and JK Tyre and Industries Limited considers itself the “undisputed leader” in this field. The tyre maker produced its first truck and bus radial in 1999 and currently holds the capacity to produce 3.5 million units per annum. On 22 August, the 10 millionth radial truck tyre produced rolled off the line at the company’s Vikrant plant in Mysuru (Mysore).
TVS Srichakra reports that it is planning to increase total tyre production capacity from 2.3 million tyres per month to 2.5 million. The Madurai, India-based firm told local news sources that it do so by the second quarter of the current financial year.
India’s JK Tyre reportedly intends to bring its research and development teams together into a new RS 1 billion (£11.4 million) centre at its Mysuru (Mysore) site. According to IANS, company chairman Dr Raghupathi Singhania disclosed yesterday that facilities “currently spread over different locations” will be “brought under one roof” in a “world-class” centre.
Tyre imports into India grew 12 per cent in the 2016 financial year, reports ICRA. The India-based ratings agency, which is majority owned by Moody’s Investor Service, comments that this growth was driven by an “unabated flow of cheaper Chinese tyres in the truck and bus radial, passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments.” The 12 per cent increase witnessed in the 12 months to 31 March 2016 followed a 17 per cent rise in imports the previous year.
India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association reports that imports of truck and bus radials into the country increased 57 per cent year-on-year to 280,000 units in April and May 2016. The 150,000 tyres imported in May alone accounted for almost 40 per cent of India’s replacement market demand, according to association figures.
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