AutoPartsAsia | NOVEMBER 2017 | 15plant. The new production line will
help augment doubling of the capacity
of the plant by 2018.
The CEO of Michelin Group, Jean
Dominique Senard, said, “Until now
we have been strong in specialised
tyres such as military and coaches.
Now the market is maturing with BS-
IV and with BS-IV norms coming in,
technology is coming into play and so
opportunities for companies like us to
get into the OE segment. Michelin is
here for the long-term and we believe
in the Indian growth story. I believe
there is a tremendous potential for
mobility in the country.” He further
said that the global company has so
far invested Rs 3,500 crore in creating
the facility in India and also in a R&D
centre to serve not just India but also
global requirements.
“India is a priority market for us and
growing demand for our products in
the country reaffirms our commitment
to keep innovating for our customers
here. In a very short time, our Chennai
plant has evolved to become one of
our most advanced manufacturing
facilities globally. The purpose of this
plant was to cater to the needs of the
Indian market and I am happy to see
that we are on target in this journey.
The Michelin XGuard was conceived
to address the Indian market’s need
for a tyre that is fuel efficient, safe
and lasts longer and to this end we
adapted the very best of Michelin
technologies to produce a premium
tyre at an affordable price.”
“When it comes to India of course
there have been some bumps but
globally if you look at the trend there
has been a massive growth probably
much larger than we had in other
areas of the world,” he said.
The Chennai facility of the Frenchmajor also feeds some of the
requirements of the export market
in countries of the Middle East and
Europe.Currently it exports 10-20 percent
of the total monthly produce of the
plant. After the capacity expansion
the company aims at catering to all
the domestic requirement from this
factory.The company also has a R&D facility
to design for India and build for
India because of the specific type
of demand that the country has with
the talent available at its facility. In
India, it has products in all segments
of vehicles ranging from bicycles,
two-wheelers, and passenger cars to
commercial vehicles. The company
which outsources two-wheeler tyres
from TVS Tyres said its growth has
been strong with a 50-60 percent
CAGR.“We are committed to the partnership
and we will continue to grow with our
partners,” Michelin India’s, Executive
VP and Member of the Board, Mohan
Kumar, said. At present the company
imports passenger car tyres and other
special needs tyres while it makes all
the truck tyres in India.Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand,
France, Michelin is present in 170
countries, has 111,700 employees and
operates 68 production facilities in 17
countries which together produced
184 million tyres in 2015.Michelin plant
Mohan Kumar, Executive Vice President, Michelin India, Jean Dominique Senard, CEO of Michelin Group
and Serge Lafon, Executive Vice President Truck Product Line