Apollo Tyres forays into truck and bus tyre segment in US, Canada

Apollo Tyres on Wednesday announced its foray into the truck and bus tyre segment in the US and Canada, following the launch of its passenger vehicle range in the two markets.

The commercial vehicle range has been introduced under the Apollo brand although the PV (passenger vehicle) range was launched under the premium European brand, Vredestein last September, the company said in a statement.

The north American range of truck and bus tyres will be produced at the company's manufacturing units in Hungary and Chennai, India. The tyre line-up will encompass a full range of regional, super-regional, coach/urban and mixed-use applications with fitments for rims ranging from 17.5 inches to 24.5 inches, it added.

Apollo Tyres Assistant Vice President (Americas) Abhishek Bisht said, "Our market entry in North America is preceded by decades of global commercial vehicle tyre manufacturing and distribution expertise. We come to market positioned to make an immediate impact by offering a tier I value proposition at a more attractive price, while setting new industry standards for service and support."

The company said it did a five-year research and development process to get insights necessary to deliver not just the right products for the fleets but also to develop a business infrastructure to serve Apollo's dealers and their commercial clients.

"Our focus is on empowering our dealers to deliver best-in-class value, service and support to their commercial client," he added.

For this year, the company said it has 13 SKUs (stock-keeping unit), which will be expanded to 23 SKUs by 2nd half of 2022, and a total of 45 SKUs covering 90 per cent of the marketplace by 2024.