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Michelin Might Soon Produce Passenger Vehicle Tyres In India

Michelin, a major French tyre producer, is thinking about producing passenger vehicle tyres locally in India, as per Florent Menegaux, the group's Chief Executive Officer. The local production could assist the tyre major based in Clermont-Ferrand to revv operations in India, which are subdued due to the 2020 import restrictions by the government.

The tyre manufacturer, with its foothold in 175 countries with 67 plants, at present, sells premium bigger-size tyres in restricted amounts in India specifically for performance-oriented models.

In 2020, curbs on imports were introduced by the government for a few new pneumatic tyres employed in buses, motor cars, lorries and motorcycles as a motion to encourage domestic production.

Tyre companies are now allowed to only import a limited number of tyres into the country within a limited import licence, which was not how it was in 2020.

According to Menegaux, India is seen as a great developing market, and the company is keen on investing in domestic passenger vehicle tyre production in India, and the sole factor that remains unresolved is the move's timing.

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The company has a global reach and invests in several regions globally, but the question remains if this is the right time for India. The investment is believed to be under process at the moment.

India is a target market for the firm as it is rapidly developing, and with the proper infrastructure, the speed (of vehicles on roads) will boost, making their technology more relevant and visible.

The firm presently has a name in India's truck and bus radial tyres. It has a manufacturing plant in Chennai which holds an installed capacity of more than 30,000 tonnes per year.

At present, the plant focuses on the production of a series of a radial truck/bus tyres and defence tyres for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)along with the country's substitute market.

They also produce two-wheeler tyres in the country via a partner.

However, the firm is disappointed by the government's decision to put restrictions on imported tyres when they were in the process of scaling operations in the region.

They successfully developed a great market in the passenger car segment that imports in a conventional way. In all regions, they begin importing to a level of a certain volume and then proceed with production.

Claiming that the government policies in India are great, the firm noted that restricting imported tyres was probably not the best idea. The country aims to safeguard the intellectual property (IP) environment in the country. But the firm invents and innovates a lot; hence IP protection is important to them.

As per Menegaux, they employ nearly 1.32 lakh employees worldwide and continue to invest in several competencies in India.

They have developed a massive centre in Pune as a global hub for AI. They conduct research activities and digital services and employ more than 2,300 individuals nationwide.

The group, which produced over 200 million tyres in 2022 globally, aims to achieve the goal of 100 percent sustainable materials in its tyres by 2050. The group unveiled two tyres recently, one for buses and cars each, including 58 percent and 45 percent sustainable materials, respectively.

With this development taking place in the country, it can be expected that the demand for feedstock SBR will increase. The demand mainly comes from the automotive industry, where it is used to make tyres for vehicles.

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The SBR industry was previously impacted by the adverse effects of COVID-19, and many vehicle manufacturers like Ford Motor, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles halted production due to supply chain delays. However, since then, the market has recovered and will likely witness a rise in expansion.

According to Procurement Resource, the article mentioned above states that the demand for SBR In the Country will increase as Michelin and JK Tire in India collaborate to make tyre manufacturing in India a reality. The company is pondering over its decision to expand the concept of local production in the region as it is a developing market which will give a boost to the vehicle industry and, therefore, will make an ideal location for their investment. Seeing this, it can be expected that feedstock SBR will witness an increase in demand as well. However, some regulations over import by the Indian government remain a concern.