Conti planning further PCR capacity in India

At the start of this month, Continental introduced truck and bus radials into the Indian market. The company is working towards an annual capacity of 220,000 TBR tyres in addition to the 1.1 million cross-ply tyres it produces each year in India. The company also has plans to further increase its passenger car radial capacity there.

In an interview with The Economic Times, tyre division head Nikolai Setzer said Continental aims to add an additional 500,000 units of passenger vehicle radial production by the end of this year. “We are ramping up fast to produce 18 lakh (1.8 million) tyres in India by 2015-16,” Setzer added. The financial daily also reports Setzer as saying Continental will launch construction tyres for the Indian market “in due course”.

In response to further questions, Setzer shared that the priority following its Modi Tyres acquisition and integration is now to consolidate Continental’s market position in India by expanding production and increasing its distribution interface, and although it doesn’t see “anything specific on the radar” at present, the company is “always open” to acquisitions and mergers. “We have the financial means to grab any opportunity of growth in India,” he commented.