New Delhi: Tire maker Bridgestone is looking to expand its retail sales in India by 20-25 per cent this year and aims to exceed the industry growth, a top company official has said. Bridgestone India currently has over 3,200 dealerships across 1,300 cities and towns in India. Bridgestone India, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational tire maker Bridgestone Corporation, has a well-diversified portfolio, primarily of radial tires that cater to OEMs as well as replacement segments.
Bridgestone India has been increasing its market penetration over the past few years. In 2022, we plan to increase our retail footprint by 11 percent, and expand to an additional 218 cities. Stefano Sancini, Managing Director, Bridgestone India said that this year we are looking to grow our overall retail network by 20-25 per cent.
He added that the company is expanding its distribution network to increase coverage in Tier-III/IV cities, thereby gaining a large footprint in the aftermarket for automotive tyres, which has more than 25 million tyres. We aim to maintain our leadership position in this segment. The OE market has shown revival in the last year and is expected to grow further in 2023. Our investment for enhanced capabilities and capabilities will help us meet the market needs, Sanchini, who is helping the company’s India operations from early 2023, said.
We expect to further increase our share in the coming year, he said. Noting that the company had seen a significant increase in both volume and revenue during the previous year, total revenue was up 37 percent year-on-year, while total volume was up 17 percent during the period.
He said that the passenger tire business has maintained its leadership position in the market. Sanchini said that our performance in the first quarter (January-March) of this year has also been encouraging and in 2022 also our performance has been on the same lines.
Sounding optimistic about the growth of the domestic tire industry, he said that the government’s spending on mobility infrastructure is improving the logistics industry’s capacity and this will accelerate the growth of the tire industry. Another catalyst is India’s automotive sector, which is expected to maintain its growth momentum in 2023, he said, adding that the domestic tire industry is expected to grow by 6 per cent in line with economic growth.
This is encouraging, keeping in mind that geopolitical events and disruptions to global supply chains could result in a slowdown in the global economy, Sancini stressed. He added that the company sees positive customer sentiment across categories.
Our aim is to stay ahead of the curve. We are confident that 2023 will be a good year in terms of performance as well as deep market penetration. Confident of further consolidating Bridgestone India’s leadership in the passenger car segment, he said, “We look forward to meeting the evolving needs of consumers by enhancing our product portfolio as well as our aftersales services and expanding our retail footprint. Continuing to work in that direction.”
Sanchini also said that the company’s plan to launch tires for the electric vehicle segment in India is in line with the OEM’s electrification thrust. We have products for EVs and are partnering with India based OEMs to develop products. As EV volumes increase, our EV compatible tires will be available in the aftermarket as well. They said.
Bridgestone India has two plants, one at Chakan (Pune) and one at Pithampur (Indore), with a cumulative capacity of 30,000 tires per day.
The company had announced an investment of Rs 600 crore in February to expand both capacity and capability. He further added that the company’s solutions business has doubled over the last year through the Pay As You Go model. As the market evolves we expect to further strengthen this business which is a win-win for all stakeholders? They said.