Success built on customer-centric innovation
While it is common and easier to rank brands based on sales volume and turnover, getting remembered and respected for technology and innovation is something which every company strives to achieve. When we talk about technology, innovation, customer-centricity and solution-provider within the automotive industry, very few names crop up in our minds. One such name which would unanimously be part of any automotive technology discussion around the world is Continental. We go back in time to retrace the German major’s journey since inception, focusing on the tyre business and its quality and technology, which has enabled it to make a mark in the highly competitive Indian market in such a short time.
Continental was founded in Hanover in 1871 as the stock corporation ‘Continental-Caoutchouc- und Gutta-Percha Compagnie’. The company’s main manufacturing facility in Hanover turned out soft rubber products, rubberized fabrics and solid tires for carriages and bicycles. In 1898, Continental became the first successful tyre manufacturer in the development and production of automobile pneumatic tyres with a plain tread. In 1904, it again created history by becoming the first company in the world to develop grooved tyres for automobiles, while in 1905 it commenced production of rivet anti-skid tyres similar to the studded tires and the detachable wheel rim for touring vehicles three years later.
In the late 1920s, the company merged with giants in the rubber industry to form ‘Continental Gummi-Werke AG’, while 30 years later it commenced production of steel cord conveyor belts. In 1955 it became the first company to develop air springs for trucks and buses evolving into the major auto components and tyre manufacturer it is today.
Currently Continental’s Tyre Division has 24 production and development locations worldwide, while its broad product range and continuous investments in R&D make a major contribution to cost-effective and ecologically efficient mobility across the world. As one of the world’s leading tyre manufacturers with more than 47,000 employees, its Tyre Division achieved sales of €9.8 billion in 2014 and continues to grow stronger.
The business unit is continuously developing from a pure tyre manufacturer to a solution provider, offering a broad range of products, services and tyre-related solutions to customers in different geographies for various applications.
Indian market – Differentiated approach
Continental Tyres India was founded in 2011 when Continental AG established its own production facility at Meerut. From this production facility Continental manufactures both bias and radial tyres for trucks and buses as well as passenger car tyres. Continental is also one of the few tyre manufacturers that produce their tubes & flaps for commercial vehicle tyres.
While its local production and distribution of both bias and radial truck and bus tyres for the Indian market has started paying dividends, Continental’s premium technology, combined with its growing understanding of the local conditions and customer requirements, has made it a reliable and strategic partner for both the aftermarket and OEM customers in the country.
Says Mr. Rajinder Singh who owns a fleet of more than 200 trucks in Chennai: “We are presently using Continental Tyres and find the performance to be very good. I want to put on record that Continental has been extremely supportive in giving training to our drivers and sharing knowledge for better service of tyres.”
Though the Indian market is quite diverse in terms of terrain, applications and customer requirements, Continental has been able to make significant impact on some of the major trucking hubs across the country within a short span of time. It is very creditable effort indeed considering the kind of growing competition both from multinationals and home-grown players in the segment.
Continental’s success has been driven by its commitment to providing the best tyres, custom-built to suit the local market, while its German heritage has helped it bring the required expertise and research knowledge to manufacture solution-specific tyres. A top-notch product range, combined with excellent customer support and aftersales service, has been Continental’s mantra for the Indian market – one which is definitely doing wonders for the company as seen from the ever-increasing number of dealers and customers with their implicit faith in the company and its products.
It is interesting to note that Continental is the only multinational brand in India to offer the radial as well as bias range of tyres for the commercial vehicle market, which is reflective of its ability and willingness to cater to the different customer demands in the region.
On the right track
A lot of developments have taken place in Continental’s tyre division in the recent past, and since last year many things have gone very well for them. Sales of commercial vehicle tyres are directly related to vehicle sales, which in turn are driven by the business and growth of the transportation requirements of the country. Even though many core sectors for truck tyres like mining, construction, etc., were driven down due to government policies in the second half of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, Continental could see its market share steadily expanding.
Mr. Samir Gupta, National Sales Manager, Continental India, says: “We can foresee a boost in the situation with the increased allocation for infrastructure development, particularly, roads & highways, along with the opening up of mines. As the external scenario improves, we are hopeful of augmenting our sales.”
Explaining the strategy further, Ms. Mallika Rawal, National Marketing Manager, CVT, Continental India Ltd., shares: “To better estimate and manage demand, over the past year we have successfully established a complete Market Demand Management team and an operational Customer Order Desk. This has helped us better co-ordinate with the production plant and increase efficiency. With this we are able to process customer and dealer requests more quickly.”
The Sales & Marketing team of Continental is constantly reinventing itself to offer the optimum value to the customers and dealers. Adopting the theme of ‘Value selling’, Continental is emphasizing the need to fully understand the customers’ requirements and meeting them. The idea is to understand their application, their business model and recommend to them the right tyres accordingly. Being the only MNC with both radial & bias commercial vehicle tyres in India, Continental believes it can cater to a wide variety of customer needs with reliable and technically superior products. “We are energetically communicating this message directly to our customers”, adds Mr. Gupta with a smile.
Asked about Continental’s plans in view of the fast-paced growth in radialization in the country’s CV space, Ms. Rawal replies: “We have seen that the Indian market is quickly adopting radial tyres. We estimate radialization rates in India to be more than 30%. We are ramping up our radial production capacity to 2.25 lakh tyres in preparation for this, and are simultaneously expanding our product portfolio.”
Continental has been doing very well in the market and remains committed to the long term, as she explains: “Our R&D team keeps travelling to our APAC headquarters in Malaysia and Germany to learn and implement the latest technologies in India. At Conti, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop solution for the customer and will be continuing with our bias range of products in parallel with our radial range.”
Innovation – the key for future success
More than one lakh buses ply on Indian roads carrying 40 lakh passengers covering more than 300 lakh kilometres every day! What is the one common issue faced by the owners of all these buses? All of them use truck tyres. Till date the Indian tyre market did not have a specific article designed for buses, which has led to Indian bus owners substituting truck tyres for their use. Continental is the first company in India to have identified this gap and, as a result, it has introduced a new tyre specifically tailored for buses regularly plying on national and State highways.
Conti BR (Bus Rib), which is an all-wheel bias tyre meant specifically for bus application, has been introduced for the Indian market. The strength of Conti BR lies in providing not only better mileage and multiple retreads than conventional tyres, but its key focus is on safety, the paramount requirement for any bus operator.
“Conti BR has been developed after immense research and interaction with bus owners so that we know their requirements. The information that we were able to get from our research was extremely helpful in the different stages of development of this tyre for our design team”, says Ms. Mallika Rawal, National Marketing Manager, CVT, Continental India Ltd.
The availability of solution-specific tyres has been a boon to customers who operate only in a limited environment, enabling them to focus on the core application. Conti CL (Construction Lug) is another tyre from Continental slated to be introduced this year. Recognizing the growth in construction activities as a huge opportunity for the heavy commercial vehicles and tyre industry, Continental is offering Conti CL, a dedicated construction tyre engineered in Germany.
“Before developing any product we listen to the voice of the customers. For the construction industry, customers demand durability even on demanding loads, multiple retread lives and high initial tread mileage on tough terrains. Continental’s Conti CL is the first bias tyre in the industry designed specifically to meet these standards”, adds Ms. Rawal.
While making these new introductions in its Bias range, Continental is also equally focused on updating the radial range of commercial vehicle tyres. Continental’s radial tyre product portfolio for India covers the goods, people and construction segments. In the goods segment, the HSR2 steer tyre and the HDR2 drive tyre offer strong reliability and high mileage. For the people segment, 295/80 R 22.5 HSR2 is a dedicated coach tyre, which stands out through its comfortable ride, excellent mileage and directional stability. The high-tech construction tyres HSX2 and HDX2 with their excellent durability and strong off-road performance round off Conti’s product portfolio.
“We use HSX2 & HDX2 for our trucks and these are giving us much better mileage and durability”, says Mr. Ajay Chaudhary, Proprietor of RKG Constructions, UP.
With the ‘Make in India’ program on the one side and satisfied customers like Mr. Ajay Chaudhary on the other, Continental is confident of making massive strides for becoming the preferred tyre company in India.
