Apollo Tyres to manufacture Vredestein radials in India. The new high-performance Vredestein tyres will cater more to the luxury segment of cars. Indiaās Apollo Tyres, which has widespread operations spanning five manufacturing facilities in India and two overseas, in Hungary and Netherlands, has revealed that it is set to commence local manufacturing of the āVredesteinā brand of tyres in the country. Highlights The Vredestein brand tyres will be launched in India within the next 3 months. In our market, the tyres will be available in sizes from R16 to R20. Apollo might also export these made-in-India Vredestein tyres to other markets. What is Apollo Vredestein? In 2009, Apollo had acquired Netherlands-based Vredestein, which is among the oldest tyre manufacturing companies in the world and has a range of premium and performance car radials, aimed at the luxury end of the market. Why is Apollo making the switch to local manufacturing? While Apollo Tyres had introduced the Vredestein range in India in 2013, the tyres were only brought in as full imports. Now, given that the government of Indiaās Ministry of Commerce and Industry has put tyres into a ārestrictedā category for imports, from earlier being under an open general license (OGL) bracket, the tyre maker has made a shift in its strategy. Speaking to Autocar India and Autocar Professional, Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and MD, Apollo Tyres, revealed, āWe are working towards locally manufacturing Vredestein-branded tyres in India so that we are able to offer Apollo as well as made-in-India Vredestein tyres for the higher segment, primarily targeting customers of Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.ā āIn fact, this strategy is linked to the import restrictions on tyres. Imports have been happening in the higher segment of the market, which is the 16-inches-and-above category and with the restrictions coming in, it opens up that market for us,ā Kanwar added. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDn78sEn_la/?igshid=1po8n2slspt6d












