Apollo Tyres launches Vredestein brand for India

ERJ staff report (TP)

New Delhi − Apollo Tyres launched its premium European brand − Vredestein – last week to cater to the high-end cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in the replacement market, reported S. Ronendra Singh for The Hindu.

To start with, the tires will be directly imported from Europe. The company said it aims to sell around 2,500-3,000 tires a month and go up to around 5,000 tires a month.

“We have done a market research before launching this brand and lot of people, especially youngsters know about Vredestein tires. To start with, we will sell these tires through multi-brand stores, including existing Apollo Zones, and may be standalone stores in the future,” Satish Sharma, Chief-India Operations, Apollo Tyres, said.

The replacement market in India for passenger cars is around 1.4m tires a month and Apollo has around five percent (around 70,000 tires) market share, he said, adding that the company will compete with companies such as Pirelli and Michelin in the premium segment with Vredestein.

The company will sell Vredestein brand of tires with sizes of 15-inch to 20-inch (38.1-cm to 50.8-cm), primarily catering to luxury coupes, premium luxury sedans and SUVs, with speeds up to 240 to 300 kph, he said.

Apollo Tyres had acquired the Netherlands-based Vredestein in 2009 to launch such premium brands of tires in India. The company already manufactures some of the Vredestein tires at its Chennai plant, but to cater to the European markets.

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Full story from The Hindu