Taking a cue from its compatriots and European counterparts, Yokohama India is zeroing in on the aftermarket space with commercial vehicle tyres. The Japanese tyremaker has already consolidated its presence in the passenger vehicle space with approximately 600 sales points, including 22-strong Yokohama Club Network (YCN) across the length and breadth of the country. Going forward, the company is keen to bring in robust tyres which are meant for vehicles built for varied applications like goods loading and unloading, mining, construction, passenger transport (buses), goods carriers, etc.
To get a broader picture of the company’s long-term plans, MOTORINDIA caught up with Mr. Takeshi Fujino, Managing Director, Yokohama India, at his office in Gurgaon. Says Mr. Fujino: “The Indian market is indispensable for us from a global standpoint. We are already making a big bang entry in the passenger vehicle segment, including SUVs and MPVs, in the aftermarket vertical, to start with. As a logical step, we are exploring the feasibility to roll out truck and bus radials in the next phases.”
It is to be mentioned that Yokohama India has announced an investment outlay of Rs. 300 crores for building a greenfield facility at Bahadurgarh that will be manufacturing Earth-1 tyres in its initial phase. Currently, it is operating on a single assembly line, and new lines may be set up once its CV tyres are also well accepted in the market. At the current rate of production, the Yokohama factory employing more than 100 persons will grow three-fold by the end of 2014.
“Yokohama India will see its first phase of commercial production start in the second half of 2014 with a maximum production capacity of 2,000 tyres per day. The capacity can be scaled up to 8,000 tyres per day in the next phases of growth. By 2017, our output should reach 7 lakh tyres per annum. By that time, CV tyres should also be added to our portfolio and we might plan to export from India”, he adds.
Globally, other than replacement tyres business, Yokohama is original equipment supplier to many top-of-the-line car manufacturers like Audi, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Suzuki and Toyota. Furthermore, it is also supplying to all Japanese OEMs and some of the major European CV players. “Most of the Japanese OEMs like Hino, Mitsubishi Truck (Fuso), Nissan Diesel (CV arm), and Isuzu Motor Corporation are served by us in the home market. That is why I see a lot of opportunities here (in India),” states Mr. Fujino.
Talking about the recently launched product, he says: “The Yokohama Earth-1 tyre is especially designed for India keeping the diverse road conditions in mind and will cater to most of the cars in B, B+ and C-segment. It is tough to take on rough roads but quiet at the same time to provide comfortable ride on smooth roads.”
The Yokohama Earth-1 tyre comes with technologically advanced wear control shoulder design which has vertical and horizontal grooves that reduce uneven wear and enhance quietness as the tyres wears. The centre rib in the tread pattern helps to maximise handling performance along with other features which include controlling the pattern noise echoing under the car body, ensuring a quieter ride and maximising drainage performance.
As far as its aftermarket vertical is concerned, Yokohama India’s plan is to double up the YCN strength by the end of 2014. Yokohama India is currently operating on two per cent of the total market share. While tube type tyres still contribute a considerable share of the total passenger car radial market, Yokohama India is only competing in the tubeless market.
Yokohama India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC), started functioning in April 2007. Sales operations started in July of the same year, and since then it has been importing tyres from Japan and the Philippines.
YRC is already running into the 10th decade of its existence and under its management plan Grand Design 100 (GD100) on completion of 100 years of operations in 2017, decided to foray into the Indian market in 2007. In 2012, it decided to start construction of plant in India to boost its GD100 achievement plans, YRC decided to start construction of its manufacturing unit in India.
With the fast transformation of the market from tube-type tyres to tubeless tyres and its manufacturing unit coming up, the world’s eighth largest tyre manufacturer is looking at a five per cent market share in India in the near future to support GD100. Last calendar year, the company earned Rs. 2 billion and is looking to record a Rs. 10 billion turnover before 2020.