Tyre Makers Flock Into 2-Wheeler Market

The tempting growth of the two-wheelers is gaining new heights every month and so is the demand for the tyres. Sighting the same, many tyre manufacturers have decided to seize this lucrative opportunity with last six months witnessing the foray of as many as four tyre-making companies into the segment. After Michelin and Apollo Tyres, the latest entrants in the two-wheeler tyre segment have been Bridgestone, the largest tyre company in the world, and homegrown Balkrishna Tyres. All four tyre firms basically specialise in car and truck tyres.

Japan-based Bridgestone has, of late, introduced a new brand, Neurun which will specifically target motorcycles and scooters tyre segment. Moreover, Michelin and Apollo too have launched their own two-wheeler tyre brands. At present, TVS Tyres, MRF, Ceat, JK Tyres and Continental Tyres are into the manufacturing of two-wheeler tyres.

Bridgestone India’s Senior General Manager, Consumer Products, Mr. Vaibhav Saraf stated that earlier there were only a handful of companies dominating the two-wheeler segment. And the reason for the same was less margin compared to other segments.

India is the largest two-wheeler market across the globe with 150 million two-wheelers plying on the roads. In this segment, the replacement of two-wheeler tyre market is going strong at an average of 9 percent per annum, whereas sales of new tyres are growing at 7-8 percent per year.

As per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in the year 2010-11, sales of motorcycles and scooters saw an upward surge of 40 percent from 11.8 million to 16.4 million in 2015-16.

In 2015-16, over 73 million two-wheeler tyres were manufactured, which is an up from 71.58 million produced in 2014-15. On the export front too, the segment performed flawlessly with a rise of 16 percent to 1.37 million last year, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) reports.

Southern India-based MRF and TVS Tyres together dominate the two-wheeler segment in the country with a joint market share of nearly 50 percent. Marching a step ahead is TVS Tyres, which has bagged the manufacturing contract for French tyre maker Michelin, which imports premium motorcycle tyres.