Neeraj R S Kanwar, chief operating officer at Apollo Tyres, said the first truck and bus radial tires will be launched in the Indian market a year from now.

“We already have the best radial products in passenger car, farm and light truck,” said Kanwar. “The only segment remaining is the heavier commercial vehicles. In a year’s time, this gap in our arsenal will be filled to ensure our truck and bus customers who wish to switch to radial tyres can depend on us for this product also.

“Even though the market segment is still very small, we feel Apollo needs to be present in this segment to retain its leadership position across all categories,” he added.

The Limda plant currently produces Apollo Acelere H-rated passenger tires as well as truck bias, light truck and agricultural radial and bias tires.