Bridgestone boosts India plans As part of its plan to claim a larger, 33 per cent share of the booming Indian passenger car market, premier Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone is expanding its manufacturing capacity and dealership network in India.Bridgestone’s Asia Pacific general manager for consumer marketing Yoshihiro Tanabe said, "The Indian market is our top priority in the Asia-Pacific region. We are going to put more focus on the Indian market than ever and are considering and discussing many possibilities for expansion." The company has earmarked Rs 259 crore for the expansion of its Pithampur facility (near Indore) whereby production will increase by over 40 per cent to 15,000 tyres per day by middle 2010.Bridgestone plans to employ 300 more workers and set up 300 more dealers to its 2,000-strong dealers network. Bridgestone India senior deputy general manager, marketing Vaibhav Saraf said, "The global meltdown has not affected India as much as it hurt the Western economies. Demand is growing and so we want to capture more than one-third of its passenger car market by 2012." Bridgestone has launched an ultra luxury performance tyre called the Turanza GR-90 in Thailand.The new tyre is part of its range of next generation car radials including the HP Sport Tyre and Adrenalin Potenza RE001, designed for the SUV and premium luxury car segment. The new tyres will be come to India in the first quarter of 2010. Here is the original press release: “Bridgestone rank India as “Top” Asia-Pacific PriorityUps capacity by 40% Mumbai November 18, 2009- Leading Japanese tyre-maker Bridgestone Corporation wants to capture a third of the growing passenger car market in India and is currently ramping up manufacturing capacity and dealership network across the country.The world's largest tyre and rubber manufacturer has identified India as a significant growth market in the Asia-Pacific region, but has, however, adopted a wait-and-wait policy on expansion in the US and Europe."The Indian market is our top priority in the Asia-Pacific region. We are going to put more focus on the Indian market than ever and are considering and discussing many possibilities for expansion," as commented by Bridgestone Asia Pacific General Manager for Consumer Marketing Department Mr. Yoshihiro Tanabe The company has a production facility at Pithampur near Indore and has announced an investment of Rs 259 crore for expansion. This will increase production capacity by over 40 per cent to 15,000 tyres per day by the middle of next year.Bridgestone will also hire 300 more people as part of the expansion plan in the country.The Tokyo-listed company also plans to have a dealership network of around 2,300 in the next three years from the existing 2,000-odd dealers, Bridgestone India Senior Deputy General Manager for Marketing Vaibhav Saraf said."The global meltdown has not affected India as much as it hurt the Western economies. Demand is growing and so we want to capture more than one-third of its passenger car market by 2012," Saraf said. |
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