Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone India expects to grow faster than the industry average in 2023 on the back of capacity addition, enhanced retail presence and healthy growth of the Indian automobile industry as well as government spending on mobility infrastructure.
In a conversation, Stefano Sanchini, managing director, Bridgestone India said that the industry is expected to grow at around 4-5%.
“Our aim is to stay ahead of this curve. We are confident that 2023 will be a good year in terms of performance as well as deeper market penetration,” Sanchini said. Last year, the tyre manufacturer’s sales grew by 16% on a year-on-year basis.
According to Sanchini, India’s passenger cars sector, now the third-largest market in the world, is expected to sustain growth momentum in 2023.
“India is expected to be the fastest growing passenger car market among the top 5 cars markets in the world with a CAGR 2020-2030 above 4%. Another catalyst is Indian government spending on mobility infrastructure that is improving the logistic industry’s efficiencies, and this will spur the tyre industry growth,” he said.
“The commercial vehicle segment is also growing with the first five months showing a sale of 360,000 units being sold. This is encouraging, considering that the total sale last year was about 700,000 units.”
Besides, Sanchini said that the government’s spending on infrastructure is going to spur growth in the OTR (Off the Road) tyre segment.
He cited that H1 of 2023 has been a good period for the Indian automotive industry with it clocking registered sales of 20,11,061 vehicles across categories.
“There is also some stability now in the global supply chains and this will ensure smooth deliveries of automobiles in H2 as well. Bridgestone India is well geared to meet this growth.”
“Our investments of $6 billion (Rs 600 crore) for our Pune plant are aimed at increasing capacity and upscaling technology for passenger car tyre production. Our two manufacturing facilities have a cumulative capacity of close to 30,000 tyre production per day, catering largely to the domestic market demand. Current investments will increase capacity by an additional 10%.”
In 2017, the tyre maker had committed an investment of Rs 1,940 crore over the next five years to upscale its two plants in Pune and Indore. Furthermore, Bridgestone India is looking to expand its retail footprint in India by 20-25% in 2023.
“Bridgestone India has been increasing its market penetration over the last few years. In 2022, we increased our retail footprint by 11%, expanding to an additional 218 towns. In 2023, we are looking to increase our overall retail network by 20-25%,” he said.
“We are aggressively enhancing the coverage in tier 3 & 4 cities. All of this will further strengthen our position in the aftermarket and help us achieve our aim of further strengthening our leadership in the (PV) category.”