Apollo bullish about growth, to invest Rs 3,800 cr in new Andhra project

Despite the economy facing a downturn Apollo Tyres has earmarked around Rs 3,800 crore for a green field project in Andhra Pradesh. The company is also expanding production of radial truck tyres to 12,000 units a day from the current 6,000 units. 

Addressing the shareholders in Kerala, Apollo Tyres' Chairman, Onkar S Kanwar said "India lies on the cusp of a great opportunity. A strong government is in place with a renewed mandate and a commitment to keep India at the top of the global economic order. The environment around us is not easy, with trade wars, protectionism and uncertainty around the world. But India has the potential, the ability and the leadership to break free of these shackles and lead global economic growth".

Apollo's single-minded focus is to realise the Vision 2020 of becoming ‘a premier tyre company with a diversified and multinational presence’, he said. To achieve this vision, the company is focusing on key objectives of ‘building leadership in India’, ‘premiumisation in Europe’, and ‘exploring strategically attractive markets where Apollo is currently not represented’. 

Today, the company has a market share of 30 per cent in the OE( original equipment) segment in India for small- and mid-sized cars and the company’s OE fitted tyres are in eight of the top 10 cars sold in India. 

"There are certainly uncertain times ahead, yet the team continues to be bullish about the growth prospects," said Kanwar.

The company has invested close to Rs 4,000 crore in a new Greenfield facility in Hungary and has also earmarked Rs 3,800 crore for a greenfield project in Andhra Pradesh. 

The facility will cater to both TBR (Truck, Bus Radial) and PCR (Passenger Car Radial) with a capacity of 3,000 TBR tyres per day and 15,000 PCR tyres, respectively.

Apollo is also upgrading its existing manufacturing plant in Chennai, expanding radial truck tyre production to 12,000 units a day from earlier 6,000 units. 

While in India, Apollo is able to achieve its leadership position in multiple segments, the company has started gaining traction in Europe too after it started catering to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of the Hungary plant. 

Apollo is the only Indian company that supplies to various OEMs in Europe like Volkswagen, Ford and Audi. "The strategy of replicating our success with OEMs in India will go hand in hand with increasing our market share in the replacement markets," said Kanwar.