Apollo adding line-haul products to truck tire portfolio

ORLANDO, Fla. — Apollo Tyres Ltd. is expanding its truck/bus tire portfolio for North American customers with three products designed for line-haul applications that will be available starting summer 2023.

Chennai, India-based Apollo began a phased rollout of its truck/bus tire line in the U.S. and Canada in early 2021, starting with regional, super-regional and mixed-use products.

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The "EnduMile" line-haul products — previewed at the 2023 Technology & Maintenance Council meeting/trade show in Orlando — comprise:

• EnduMile LHfront steer-axle tire;
• EnduMile LHD drive-axle tire; and
• EnduMile LHT trailer tire.

The new line has been benchmarked against leading Tier 1 competitors and undergone millions of miles of testing on North American roads, Apollo said, without disclosing construction or performance details of the new tires.

The new range will allow Apollo to cover 85% of the commercial truck tire market, with over 40 SKUs, delivering high mileage and low cost per mile.

The new line-haul drive and trailer tires will be available for preorder in the summer of 2023, followed later by the line-haul steer tires.

Apollo offers complimentary road-hazard warranty on all of its commercial tires along with a 72-month workmanship and material warranty.

Apollo also disclosed at the TMC that it had hired Brad Persons, a former Michelin North American sales executive, to be its national sales head for commercial tires, tasked with overseeing the company's sales initiatives within the U.S. and Canada for commercial tires.

Apollo is one of three Indian tire makers competing in the medium truck/bus tire sector in the U.S., along with JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. and Ralson (India) Ltd.

In 2022, imports of medium truck/bus tires from India jumped 33.2% to 765,791 units, making India the seventh-largest source of imported truck tires. Collectively, this total equates to a market share of nearly 3%, according to Tire Business' analysis of available industry data.