Following reports that Avon is set to become a two-wheel/motorcycle-only tyre brand in Germany in the future, Goodyear representatives have sought to clarify that the Avon brand will remain in the company’s product portfolio both for passenger and motorcycle tyres.
Early in 2019, Apollo Tyres announced it would introduce motorcycle tyres into Europe under the Vredestein brand name, promising performance that competed with its rival’s first line products at prices competing with their second or even third line ranges. The first three models – the Vredestein Centauro ST radial for sport touring bikes, Centauro Road sports radial, and Staccata scooter range – debuted at the EICMA show in Italy later that year.
The Maxxis Group’s first tyre factory in India opened in March. The facility in Gujarat state was set up with an investment of US$400 million and began operating with an initial daily capacity of 20,000 tyres and 40,000 tubes. Maxxis Rubber India shares that original equipment tyres have now begun to be shipped from the 43-hectare Sanand plant to Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), and it plans to supply one million tyres to its OEM partners by the end of the year. Furthermore, the tyre maker intends to complement its recently-opened plant with five additional factories in India that will produce tyres for other segments.
New motorbike battery laws, effective 1 July, see the most common type of motorbike battery, a ‘dry battery’, become illegal to buy or sell unless customers have a valid Explosives Precursors and Poisons (EPP) licence. The licence costs £39.50.
The first phase of the greenfield factory project that Ceat Ltd began in late 2014 is now complete, the tyre maker reports. The Buti Bori plant, near Nagpur in India’s Maharashtra state, was commissioned on 28 March and has the capacity to produce 15 tonnes of two and three-wheeler tyres a day – some 40,500 pieces.
The market for motorcycle and scooter tyres in India is massive – around 120 million two-wheeled vehicles ply the country’s roads. To supply this large and growing market – the two-wheeler segment is said to be increasing at 8.5 per cent CAGR – and in response to its requests from its partners, Apollo Tyres has introduced the company’s first-ever products for this segment. The new Acti line-up covers around 85 per cent of replacement market demand for two-wheeler tyres in India.
CEAT, India’s second largest two-wheeler tyre company, has signed an exclusive distribution partnership with Pirelli. Pirelli was once the owner of CEAT – Cavi Electrici e Affini Torino SpA – but RPG acquired CEAT in India in 1982. Nevertheless Pirelli continued to hold the global rights for the brand until five years ago.
Indian tyre maker TVS Srichakra Limited informed the National Stock Exchange of India on 2 June that it has entered into an agreement with wholly-owned Michelin subsidiary, Michelin India Private Limited, to produce a range of two wheeler tyres under the Michelin brand name.
On 11 December 2014, Indian tyre maker Ceat Ltd laid the foundation stone for its new manufacturing facility in Buti Bori near Nagpur, Maharashtra state. The stone laying follows the 30 October approval by Ceat’s Board of Directors to invest Rs 4.2 billion (£42.4 million) to set up a plant producing tyres for two and three-wheeled vehicles. The facility’s planned capacity is 120 tonnes per day.
Figures from the Motor Cycle Industry Association reveal that sales were buoyant in March. “It is extremely positive to see that the motorcycle market was up by an impressive 18.2 per cent last month following February’s -3.6 per cent decline”, said Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.
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