Bridgestone India’s newly appointed Managing Director Hiroshi Yoshizane has been entrusted with the target of accelerating the company’s growth ahead of the market and improving the market share both in terms of volume and value.
Bridgestone sees India as the fastest-growing market in its portfolio and expects revenue from India to grow 9 percent by 2026, Yoshizane said to Autocar Professional on the sidelines of launching a new range of tyres under the Turanza label.
The Japanese tyre maker has seen its India revenue surge by 60 percent in the last five years while it’s PCR tyre volume doubled over the period. The company estimates the volume to cross 26 million tyres in 2026.
The passenger car radial replacement tyre segment is poised to witness substantial growth by the end of this decade amid the robust sales of passenger vehicles over the recent years and improving road infrastructure in the country.
“We are expecting a huge growth in this segment (car replacement tyre market). The projection is for the demand to grow 50 percent by 2030,” Yoshizane said.
The tyre maker is targeting to outpace the market growth during this period and improve its market share in the replacement market to 25 percent from the current 20 percent by the end of the decade.
Bridgestone currently has two manufacturing plants in India – one in Chakan, Pune, and another one in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and produces a total of 30,000 PCR tyres per day.
To meet the expected surge in demand, the company plans to ramp up its capacity by around 20 percent in the next four years. This capacity expansion will happen at the Chakan plant.
“We are investing Rs 600 crore for expanding the capacity in the Chakan plant by 6,500 tyres per day and it is expected to be commissioned by 2028,” said Rajarshi Moitra, chief commercial officer at Bridgestone India.
This investment is part of the USD 300 million, which Bridgestone India committed in 2017 for capacity expansion. In the long term, the company plans to increase its total capacity to 30,000 tyres per day.
While Bridgestone India’s market share in terms of volume is projected to grow by 5 percentage points to 25 percent by 2030, the management anticipates a much higher growth rate and share in terms of revenue during the period.
This reflects the premiumisation of its product portfolio with the shift in the market preference towards superior products and bigger vehicles.
Bridgestone India is the market leader in the replacement premium car tyre market, which accounts for around 30-35 percent of the overall replacement tyre market.
With higher sales of sports utility vehicles and premium sedans, the company sees this segment growing much faster going forward. The newly launched range of Turanza tires will cater to sports utility vehicles and premium sedans.
Bridgestone India’s strategy continues to be focused on the growing domestic market and is not considering any exports from here as of now.
“India is the fastest growing market in our portfolio. It is very important for the company. Going forward, we want to solidify our position as the premium mass leader here,” Yoshizane noted.
Defining “premium mass”, Yoshizane said the company refers to premium as something that offers a higher and better experience, where people are willing to pay more, and mass means the company generates enough volume out of it without being a very tiny niche player.
Bridgestone is yet to develop a dedicated electric vehicle tyre for the Indian market. But the company says its new tyres are “EV-ready,” which can meet both general performance demands and the specific requirements of electric vehicles.