A market study into the viability of selling Goodyear’s truck and bus radial range in India has begun, reports the Hindu Business Line.
The managing director of Goodyear India, Rajeev Anand, stated on Feb. 22 that, "We are putting our TBRs into the market on a pilot basis for testing. The market study will take around 18 months after which we will launch a new range. At present we only make cross ply tires for trucks and buses, in which we have a small marketshare."
As the financial newspaper notes, radials still account for just 12% of the 950,000 truck and bus tires sold in India each month, yet sales have more than doubled in the last two years due to growth in the commercial vehicle market.
At the same time as announcing Goodyear India’s commercial vehicle radial plans, Anand discussed plans to invest in the expansion and modernization of the company’s passenger tire plant in Aurangabad and the Ballabhgarh agricultural tire factory in Haryana. “India is our second largest investment in the Asia-Pacific region. With the market and sales growing rapidly, we will invest more in modernization, expansion and dealer network,” he commented. (Tyres & Accessories)
