Apollo Tyres mulling entry into two-wheeler tyre market

Recent growth in the two-wheeler tyre market has attracted Apollo Tyres to expand its product line-up and foray into the two-wheeler tyre segment.

The company is looking to launch its two-wheeler tyre range sometime next year. The management of the company said, "We are now exploring options in the two-wheeler segment actively. The company does not have a specific timeline to the launch of two-wheeler tyres but it should be towards end of this fiscal year or latest by beginning of next fiscal year."

Currently, the two-wheeler tyre market is dominated by companies like MRF, CEAT, TVS Srichakra, Birla Tyres, Ralco and Metro Continental. In the recent years, MRF has managed to take up majority shares in the two-wheeler tyre market since it is also the OE supplier to many motorcycle manufacturers. According to some analysts, the competition in the two-wheeler segment is not very intense and there are just a few major players in this domain.

The two-wheeler industry in India, on the whole, has seen a major growth in the last 3-4 years, even when there was economic slowdown to deal with. The sales of scooters have grown by over 20 per cent while the bikes have shown single-digit growth.

The OEMs have also seen growth during the last few years and its impact will most likely be evident in the replacement tyre market when the demand for replacement tyres start to increase in the near future.

It is interesting to see that the scooter sales have been growing even amidst the rural slow down. Analysts say that the OEM growth may be subdued now due to the challenging rural economy but the replacement market is expected to grow by 50-60 per cent.