Bullish on the long-term prospects of the Indian automobile market, tyre maker Goodyear India on Thursday said it will keep launching products for the passenger vehicles segment, including high-performance tyres for SUVs, at regular intervals. The company, which on Thursday introduced two new tyres, Assurance DuraPlus 2 and Wrangler AT SilentTrac, termed the current slowdown in the domestic market as cyclical and short-term.
"SUV segment is growing at a very healthy clip and we will definitely have products. Within SUV there are different types of usage, on the road, off-road and then sporty and standard, so the company will continue to do that (launch products) with regular frequency," Goodyear India Vice-President (Consumer Business) PK Walia told PTI. The demand for ultra-high-performance tyres for SUVs is set to grow at a faster rate than the rest of the segments and the company is very well positioned to participate in that vertical, he added.
Terming the current slowdown in the auto industry as cyclical, he said the company is quite bullish on the original equipment (OE) segment in the long run. He also ruled out any layoffs at the company's two plants at Ballabhgarh (Haryana) and Aurangabad (Maharashtra) owing to the current sluggishness in the auto market. Regarding the company's plans for entering the commercial vehicles segment, Goodyear India CMD Rajeev Anand said, "At the moment we are still assessing. We have been looking at the market but as of now not decided to get into these segments. There are no plans to enter the two-wheeler segment as well in the near future, he added.
Without divulging details, he said the company has a decent market share in the passenger vehicles segment and a dominant one in the farm tyre vertical in the country. Commenting on new product launches, Anand said the company continues to push itself to offer a wide portfolio of new offerings that cater to different market segments.
While Assurance DuraPlus 2 is designed for small-to-mid-sized passenger cars, Wrangler AT SilentTrac is tailored for SUV drivers. Assurance DuraPlus 2 is available in 13 to 15-inch rim diameters, while Wrangler AT SilentTrac is available in 15 to 17-inch rim sizes. The tyres would be rolled out from the company's Aurangabad plant. Goodyear India currently supplies tyres to many of the leading OEMs in the country. Globally, Goodyear employs around 64,000 people and manufactures its products from 47 plants in 21 countries.
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