14 | AutoPartsAsia | NOVEMBER 2017CORPORATE
B
uoyed by its increasing
aftermarket penetration and
expanding client base in the
OE segment, the French
automotive tyre major Michelin is
doubling the production capacity of its
Indian facility near Chennai. Work has
been progressing and the company
that produces 15,000 tonnes of tyres a
year now will produce 30,000 tonnes a
year, by the end of 2018.
In India Michelin sells most of its
truck and bus radial tyres in the
replacement market. It has a strong
presence in the military segment.
In areas like personal troop carriers
and some other segments it has 100
percent market share.
The company sells its tyres through
over 5,000 outlets spread across more
than 150 locations in the country. The
company has a strong OEM presence
in the bus segment. It has a full share
in the inter-city coach segment and
supplies its tyres to buses of Volvo,
Scania and MAN, among others.
At present, only 70 per cent of its
products sold in India are produced
in its Chennai facility. In two years
it plans to produce 100 per cent of
its domestic market requirements.
Alongside, the company hopes to
increase its footprint in the aftermarket.
As part of its OE expansion
programme, the company has signed
a commercial agreement with Ashok
Leyland to supply Michelin X Guard
range of radial truck tyres for its
Captain 3718 Plus range of trucks.
Hitherto, the company was catering to
Volvo as OE supplier.
The new generation range of radialtruck and bus tyres, offering up to 10
percent fuel savings, are exclusively
designed, engineered and made for
India. It will benefit the vehicle maker
in terms of increased fuel economy,
eventually enhancing its edge over
competition. It is expected to enable
the OEM to pass benefits of fuel
efficiency and optimized payload to its
customers.Targeted at the price-sensitive general
goods carriers and medium and long-
haul transporters, Michelin X Guard is
a longer-lasting, fuel efficient, lighter
and robust tyre. The latest material
solutions and 3D printing technologies
have been used to produce the
tyre moulds. As a result, ‘Regenion’
technology, which regenerates
new grooves as the tyre wears, is
integrated. It helps to retain excellent
grip right up to the very last mile.
The performance of this tyre benefits
also from another technology called
‘InfiniCoil’ - a several hundred-metre
long thin wire wrapped round the tyre
structure giving it added robustness
without extra weight. These
technologies have enabled the 125-
year old company to produce a tyre
that is 18 percent lighter, yet delivers
on robustness and returns better
performance on tyre mileage and fuel
efficiency. With this new tyre, Michelin
is making an entry in the mass market
segment of commercial vehicle tyres
in India.
According to the company, fuel tests
are conducted under Michelin and
Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE)-recommended methodology
and conditions against leading brands
of similar size and pattern. Fuelsavings are based on an assumption
of 7,000 km of travel per month in a 10
X 2 vehicle with diesel prices at INR 55
per litre.As part of the expansion programme,
the company has inaugurated a new
state-of-the-art production line for the
X Guard range of tyres at its ChennaiMichelin Expands
Clientele, Capacity
APA Bureau
CAPTAIN
X-guard-tyreAlexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India and Jean Dominique
Senard, CEO of Michelin Group at the production line.