Apollo Tyres targets leadership in premium two-wheeler market, opens new plant in Gujarat

Apollo Tyres is aiming for leadership in the premium two-wheeler segment in India, and service the global markets with high-end bias and steel radial tyres.

The premium segment constitutes nearly 20 percent of the two-wheeler market in India and is the fastest growing one. This segment is witnessing an increasing shift and growth due to rapid urbanisation, rising consumer income levels and increasing young population, which is driving the demand for tyres as well in this category.

India, which is the largest two-wheeler market in the world,  still has headroom for further growth. Industry experts are of the opinion that during the current pandemic, people are moving away from shared/public transport towards owning a personal vehicle, including a two-wheeler. This will further drive up demand for tyres in this category.

Commenting on the leadership drive in the premium two-wheeler segment, Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and MD, Apollo Tyres, said, “We are aiming for a strong foothold in the high-value, highly profitable premium motorcycle tyre market, which caters to the top 20 percent of motorcycle market in India, and the entire Europe and Americas market. We now have a global portfolio of high-end bias and steel radial tyres for the two-wheeler segment, which will be produced at our highly advanced and futuristic facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.”

To service this growing segment, Apollo Tyres today formally inaugurated a dedicated commercial facility to manufacture two-wheeler radial and cross-ply tyres. The plant was inaugurated virtually by Apollo Tyres chairman, Onkar S Kanwar, while vice-chairman and MD, Neeraj Kanwar and other supervisory Board members of the company also joined on this occasion, along with select business partners.

New Gujarat plant goes on stream
Spread over more than 10,000 square metre area, this two-wheeler tyre manufacturing unit is housed within Apollo Tyres’ Limda plant in Vadodara, in the western Indian state of Gujarat. This facility, which has an initial capacity to produce 30,000 motorcycle radials and 60,000 motorcycle cross-ply tyres per month, will cater to the premium two-wheeler segment. According to the company, the plant’s modular layout capacity can be easily ramped up as the demand increases.

Apollo Tyres entered the two-wheeler tyre business in 2016 and became India’s first company to launch zero-degree steel radial tyres, a global gold standard for motorcycle tyres, and now has a double-digit market share in this segment.