Tyre maker Bridgestone India today said it has raised prices by 3.5 per cent due to increased raw materials costs, effective today.
"We have hiked tyre prices by 3.5 per cent from today onwards owing to an increase of raw material prices," Bridgestone India General Manager (Sales and Marketing) Vaibhav Saraf told reporters here.
"With prices of natural and synthetic rubber increasing substantially in the last 6-7 months, the company is compelled to increase tyre prices," Saraf said.
The company has taken the call after fellow industry players such as Apollo Tyres, JK Tyre, CEAT and MRF did so last week. All have announced hikes at around the same levels as Bridgestone.
"We have increased tyre prices by 3.5 per cent this time (for the second time in the year). Earlier, the company hiked tyre prices by 1.94 per cent after the Union Budget," he said.
"There is tremendous pressure on tyre companies and they have been facing trouble as natural rubber and other raw material prices have gone up substantially in the last 6-7 months," Saraf said.
The Japanese tyre-maker today inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra government to set up its second plant at Chakan near Pune at an investment of Rs 2,600 crore in phases.
"This new plant will begin passenger car radial tyre (PSR) and truck and bus radial tyre (TBR) production to cater to the growing demand in India," the company said a statement.
The plant is scheduled to start turning out passenger car radial tyres, and truck and bus radial tyres from January 2013 and August 2013, respectively, it said.
The tyre major set up its first plant at Pithampur near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, which produces PSR tyres. The company plans to start producing passenger car radial tyres from here in 2011, the statement said.
