India
With Apollo Tyres launching a new Vredestein tyre specifically developed for electric vehicles (EVs) later this year, the debut of the tyre maker’s first EV-specific products in India is particularly interesting. Yesterday, Apollo introduced new ranges for cars and two-wheelers.
JK Tyre & Industries Limited has appointed Anuj Kathuria to the role of President (India). Based in Delhi, Mr Kathuria reports to Dr Raghupati Singhania, the company’s chairman and managing director, and managing director Anshuman Singhania.
Indian consumers will soon benefit from tyre performance requirements very similar to those covering tyres sold in the UK and Europe. The country’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) announced the upcoming regulatory change on 28 June 2022.
With its acquisition of all remaining shares in the Marangoni GRP joint venture expected to be completed by mid-July, Marangoni Group is now looking forward to “embarking on its solo journey in India,” a region it considers a “fast-emerging key market in the retreading sector.”
Marangoni Group is now the proud 100 per cent owner of the business it established in 2015 as a joint venture to bring its Ringtread retreading system to India. In a notification sent today to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India, former joint venture partner GRP Limited confirmed disposal of its 50 per cent shareholding in Marangoni GRP Private Limited.
JK Tyre & Industries intends to significantly increase its capacity to produce passenger car tyres. During an earnings call this month, managing director Anshuman Singhania confirmed that the tyre maker’s Board of Directors has approved an Rs 5.3 billion (£54.0 million) expansion of PCR capacity at its Banmore plant. Along with a recently commissioned debottlenecking programme, this will increase PCR capacity there by 35 per cent from its current level of around 9 million tyres per annum.
Mitas’s newest two-wheeler tyre production facility in India has been formally inaugurated, following our early 2022 article that the factory was ready to commence production. The factory, which will serve global motorcycle tyre markets, is the result of a joint venture with the Mahansaria Group. The two companies are combining their expertise to bring Mitas tyre engineering into the two-wheeler tyre market. Both companies have been working throughout the challenges of the last two years, to test and produce tyres. The Mitas brand is part of Trelleborg Wheel Systems, whose sale to Yokohama for 2.1 billion euros was confirmed at the turn of the year.
Indian tyre maker MRF Limited has reported a standalone income of Rs 193.04 billion (£2.03 billion) for the financial year ending 31 March 2022, a 19.7 per cent increase on the previous year’s result. Exports were slightly up, being valued at Rs 17.79 billion (£186.80 million), compared with Rs 13.33 billion for the prior financial year. Standalone net profit, however, dropped 48.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6.47 billion (£67.94 million).
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation into alleged cartel activities and anti-competitive behaviour doesn’t exclusively focus on local tyre makers. Stock exchange Börse Frankfurt shares news from the German Press Agency (dpa) regarding the visit of CCI officials to a site operated by Continental AG in the city of Faridabad. The statement shares that Continental is “cooperating fully with the authorities” but does not want to comment on the details of this ongoing investigation.
Indian stock exchange BSE sought clarification from three tyre makers after media outlet CNBC-TV18 reported yesterday that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had visited their premises as part of its investigation into alleged competition violation and cartelisation. One of the tyre firms, Apollo Tyres Ltd., responded to the BSE query earlier today. The other two manufacturers, Ceat Ltd. and MRF Ltd., have yet to reply.
Earlier today, BKT produced the first tyre following extensions at its Bhuj site in India. The expansion project’s completion represents the culmination of an investment valued at close to £80 million
Indian reclaimed rubber specialist GRP Ltd. shares that as of 16 February, it has installed capacity for recycling end-of-life tyres at a new plant in Solapur, Maharashtra state. The facility is capable of processing 6,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres per annum.
During an event featuring former Manchester United great Dimitar Berbatov, Apollo Tyres launched the second season of United We Play, its pan-India initiative with the football club. Through two selection rounds, Apollo Tyres and Manchester United Soccer School coaches will select up to five young footballers to visit Old Trafford, giving them the opportunity to participate in a training session.
Yesterday the Competition Commission of India (CCI) finally made public the news that back in 2018 it found five tyre makers and India’s tyre industry association guilty of contravening the provisions of India’s Competition Act by indulging in cartel activities in 2011 and 2012. All protagonists have been fined for their actions.
With exports of its off-highway tyres (OHT) particularly healthy at present, India’s Ceat Limited has decided to increase its strategic focus in this area and will more than double agricultural radial capacity by mid-2023. Existing plans to expand truck and bus radial (TBR) production are thus taking a back seat.
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