By Stephen Downer, Special to Tire Business
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — India's Apollo Tyres Ltd. is mulling whether to open a tire dealership network in Mexico this year or next.
In a full-page advertisement that appeared in the March-April issue of Mexico tire industry trade association ANDELLAC's bi-monthly magazine, the tire maker invited those interested in possibly being part of the network to contact Mauricio Castañeda, who heads the company's sales operations in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and the Andean region.
Based in Gurgaon, in the northern India state of Haryana, Apollo acquired Dutch tire maker Vredestein Banden B.V. for an undisclosed sum in 2009.
Apollo Vredestein B.V.'s head office is in Enschede, the Netherlands, where it has a manufacturing plant. The company also makes tires at a new facility in Hungary— opened in 2017— and at four plants in India under the brand names Apollo and Vredestein.
Mr. Castañeda, who is based in Guadalajara, responded via email to questions submitted by Tire Business.
Tire Business (TB): When does Apollo Vredestein intend to open a dealership network in Mexico?
Mauricio Castañeda (MC): “Apollo Tyres is looking at setting up its dealership network in the latter part of the year or the beginning of next year.”
TB: How many dealers will there be in the network?
MC: “We are currently evaluating the network proposals and will soon finalize our strategy.”
TB: Why has Apollo Vredestein decided to set up a network in Mexico at this particular time?
MC: “Mexico is the largest market in the region for Apollo Tyres. However, we have serviced Mexico and other countries in Central America from India and Europe. With the new greenfield plant in Hungary recently inaugurated, we are in a better position to service Mexico now. Setting up a dedicated network is part of the strategy to have a sharper focus on Mexico.”
TB: What will the focus of your sales efforts in Mexico be — tires for light vehicles or tires for commercial vehicles?
MC: “Currently, we are evaluating network options for all main categories — TBR, LTR, PCLT, agricultural and OHT. We also offer a full range of bias truck and light truck tires.”
TB: Will it be a full-service dealership network or just a sales network?
MC: “We are evaluating various options and no final decision has been taken.”
TB: How much will Apollo Vredestein invest in setting up the dealership network?
MC: “We are evaluating various options and no final decision has been taken.”
TB: How competitive a market is Mexico and why do you think that Apollo Vredestein can succeed here?
MC: “The Mexican market is extremely competitive and requires a very compelling value proposition for both the network and the end users. We have similar experiences in countries in Europe and in India, and we hope to leverage our understanding of these markets to create a localized strategy for Mexico.”
TB: In which other Latin American markets does Apollo Vredestein sell tires?
MC: “We have a distributor network in most of the Latin American and Central American markets like Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago, Nicaragua and others.”
TB: What are the biggest selling Apollo Vredestein tires in other Latin American markets — tires for light vehicles, tires for agriculture or tires for commercial vehicles?
MC: “TBR and PCR are our biggest sellers in the region. We also experience strong demand for our bias product lines.”