Apollo Tyres enters Malaysia with commercial vehicle range
Apollo Tyres Ltd of India has marked its official entry into the Malaysian market by introducing its range of commercial vehicle tyres at the Malaysian International Bus, Trucks and Components (MIBTC) Expo 2013 held last week. The company will soon follow up with the introduction of passenger car tyres at a later date.
From its regional hub in Bangkok, Apollo plans to grow its exports in the ASEAN region, with Malaysia amongst key markets being targeted. The company hopes to ride on the slew of infrastructure projects currently undertaken around the country to fuel increased demand for commercial vehicle tyres.
Commenting on Apollo’s entry into Malaysia, Satish Sharma, Chief, Zone I, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said “We have the experience on the kind of tyres, services and training required to allow vehicle owners to maximise on performance. While our focus would be on the truck radial tyres for the Malaysian market, we are also introducing few sizes of cross-ply tyres for the logging and mining industry, apart from our range of passenger vehicle tyres.”
According to market research data gathered by Apollo, Malaysia’s commercial vehicle market consumes some 750,000 tyres a year, and it has been testing its products and seeding the market for some time now. The company believes that it will be able to bring in a better value proposition for the commercial vehicle customers in Malaysia. On the passenger vehicle front, the India-made Volkswagen Polo Sedan is supplied with Apollo tyres.
“We also plan to bring our radial service proposition in the form of training and education in commercial vehicle radial tyres, working together with end users to enable them to extract the best cost-per-kilometre, and run their businesses more effectively. Radial tyres have numerous advantages, however they require proper fitting and maintenance at all times,” added Satish Sharma.
