Apollo adding scooter, M/C tires

GURGAON, India (March 11, 2016) — Apollo Tyres Ltd. is branching into the two-wheeler tire segment with the launch of the Apollo Acti series for bikes and scooters, covering nearly 85 percent of the Indian replacement market for such tires.

The launch of the Acti line follows a two-year research and development project to produce tires suited to India's “diverse road conditions,” according to Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman/managing director of Apollo Tyres.

Apollo is sourcing the tires initially from another Indian tire maker that Apollo declined to identify. The company expects demand of about 120,000 tires a month initially, with growth quadrupling to 500,000 tires a month in about two years.

Apollo cites projected annual demand growth of 8.5 percent in India for two-wheeler tires as central to its decision to enter the segment. There are an estimated 120 million two-wheelers operating in India.

Apollo Chairman Onkar Kanwar called the launch a “milestone for Apollo Tyres as the entry into the two-wheeler segment makes the company a full-range player. The presence in the two-wheeler segment will help the company cement its leadership position in India.”

The range comprises three basic applications:

Motorcycle rear tires — three patterns, actiGRIP R1 and R2 in block pattern for on-off road and urban/highway driving and actiZIP R3 in directional pattern for highway driving;

Motorcycle front tires — three patterns, actiSTEER F1 in straight rib pattern and actiZIP F2 and F3 in directional patterns;

Scooter tires — two directional patterns, actiZIP S1 and S2, for front and rear applications and two block patterns, actiGRIP S3 and S4, for rear applications.