Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that Continental AG is eying a new tire plant in either India or Russia in a move to tap into those growth markets.

“It’s obvious that we need to have local production in India and Russia if we want to be a strong player there,” Nikolai Setzer, head of Conti’s passenger tire business, told the magazine. “We are still evaluating different concepts and ideas, but we do want to have a decision this year.”

The magazine said the move would also help Continental avoid high import tariffs in those countries; Russia has a 20% import tariff on tire imports and India continues to protect local producers with high import tariffs.

In the past six months, Michelin and Bridgestone have announced plans to expand their production in India, and Michelin said it would double capacity at its existing passenger tire plant near Moscow while building a new truck tire plant in Russia. Pirelli has also set plans for Russian tire production through a joint venture plant and the potential purchase of existing tire plants there.