German Tier-1 major Continental’s tyre division – Continental Tires – is bullish about its growth potential in India, particularly in view of the growing demand for safer tyres for more premium and luxury cars as well as enhanced consumer awareness about the need to buy safer vehicles. The company is confident about the future growth prospects from the Indian aftermarket with the strengthening road infrastructure and premiumisation of cars in the country.
In a recent interaction with Autocar Professional, Samir Gupta, Managing Director, Continental Tires India and Head of Central Asia Region – BA Tyres APAC, Continental Tires, said that India is a booming economy and construction, manufacturing and mining are the key sectors driving the GDP growth, which is currently pegged at 8 percent.
“The strong emphasis on infrastructure development augurs well for both commercial and personal mobility by road, thus, giving a fillip to the tyre industry as well. Furthermore, with rising sales of more premium cars and the new trend towards SUVs is also increasing the average speeds, thus, generating more demand for safer tyres,” he added.
“The safest car might not be very safe if its tyres are not safe, and that puts a lot of responsibility on tyre manufacturers like us. Secondly with the advent of EVs, there is also a growing demand for more robust and quiet tyres that continue to perform at their peak in terms of braking distance and wet grip.
“From Continental’s perspective, we had already anticipated these trends and had started developing products with such attributes,” Gupta explained.
Single-minded focus on safety, durability, long life and efficiency
As regards commercial vehicles, he pointed out that the prime requirement from the segment is for tyres with higher mileage. “We have launched next-generation tyres with ultra-mileage, long-distance capabilities without compromising on the safety aspects of the tyres. We have launched these intelligent tyres which offer up to 3 percent saving in fuel consumption and offer up to 20 percent higher mileage. In case the tyre is getting flatter, these intelligent tyres also notify the truck or bus driver well in advance to avoid any potential safety hazards,” he said.
“Therefore, be it cars or commercial vehicles, safety, durability, long life and efficiency remain the key directives for us,” Gupta outlined.
Continental Tires India’s plant at Modipuram.
While the company estimates a current penetration level of 12-15 percent for 17-inch-and above tyres in the replacement market, Continental Tires expects the numbers to more than double over the next 5-7 years with growing domestic market sales of SUVs. “This is a segment that is growing roughly at a CAGR of 15-17 percent and we expect the penetration to hit 30 percent in the next 5-7 years’ timeframe,” he said.
“But with more than 50 percent of new cars now being SUVs, the OEM penetration rate of these sizes would be much higher,” Gupta signed off, whilst revealing that the 17-inch-and above tyres already contribute more than 25 percent to its total volumes in India.
While it already offers locally-produced 19- and 20-inch tyres in India with the Sports Contact 5 that is soon to be replaced with the PC6 series, Continental Tires is now also evaluating the business case to locally manufacture 21-inch-and above sizes in the country.