Indian tyre manufacturers are stepping into the premium space. Apollo entered this space with the Vredestein tyres, catering to all premium motorcycles, while Ceat has now entered the league with the Sportrad and Crossrad tyres. Currently, the road-biased Sportrad caters to motorcycles in the sub-500cc with two sizes on offer: 110/70ZR17 and 150/60ZR17. The off-road biased Crossrad is available in a single size of 140/60R17.
Speaking of the motorcycle segment the new tyres cater to, Arnab Banerjee, the CEO and MD of Ceat says, “India has primarily been a commuter segment market and is slowly moving to other segments. The touring and weekend ride community is also on the rise, while off-roading is also on the rise.” These are new segments for tyre makers to explore, and Ceat is looking for the same.
The key aspect of these tyres becoming a success is the amount of trust the consumers can gain, instead of looking at products based on where they’re made. Ceat has an advantage here, as the tyre maker has been in the business for long. However, the primary battle will continue with Appolo’s Vredestein, as it gained popularity, owing to its time and availability when most other tyres were unavailable in the Indian market.
For the Sportrad and Crossrad tyres, Ceat started the journey with the mind of having tyres for every motorcycle segment in India. With the launch of the two tyres, Ceat has taken care of the entry-level segment for road and off-road purposes. “We have three more segments to cater to,” says Lakshmi Narayanan, the Chief Marketing Officer at Ceat.
The company will be entering the sport touring, supersport, and adventure segment over the next financial year. “The current launch takes care of three sizes, and with the upcoming launches, we will cater to a wider audience and more motorcycles,” adds Narayanan.
Ceat has partnered within the organisation and also with other partners to develop the tyres in-house. The CMO says that getting the compound right and maintaining consistency was key, along with the pattern of the tyres, which were the most crucial aspects. Ceat has been working towards enhancing its own capabilities to develop these tyres, which will be made at Ceat’s Chennai plant.
