Apollo tyres to focus on Hungary and Chennai units

Gurgaon-based Apollo Tyres will continue to focus on its Greenfield facility in Hungary and expansion of Chennai plant in India. This new addition will help the company meet the growing demand of passenger car tyres and heavy commercial vehicle tyres in Europe and India.

The Hungary unit which has a capacity of 5.5 million passenger car tyres and 6, 75,000 heavy commercial vehicle tyres, is likely to roll out its first set of tyres in early 2017.

Both Apollo and Vredestein brand of tyres will be produced in the facility. According to Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and MD of Apollo Tyres Ltd, the plant will generate 975 jobs, out of which most would be hired locally. Kanwar added, “The primary market for the tyres from this facility would be Europe but in case of additional capacity, it would be exported to markets like US, Middle East and ASEAN region.”

The 1979-established company has witnessed growth in both OEs and replacement market for both passenger vehicle tyres and the commercial vehicle tyres, in Europe. Comparing India and Europe, Kanwar said, “Europe is a big market for the passenger vehicle tyres, while India is a huge market for our commercial vehicle tyres.” Both OEs and replacement market is contributing equally to the growth in India.