Apollo Tyres has commissioned its fifth plant in India and seventh globally, in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.The zinc oxide demand in the region is likely to witness an uptick with new capacity installed by Apollo Tyres.
The greenfield facility’s first phase entails an investment of Rs3,800 crores ($502mn) followed by a gradual ramp up of production in the next 12-18 months, depending upon demand revival. By 2022, the plant is likely to have a capacity to produce 15,000 passenger car tyres and 3,000 truck-bus radial tyres per day. The new plant will enable the company to target premium OEMs and after-market consumers in India.
Apollo’s capacity addition is in line with India’s motto of being self-reliant and reducing dependency on imports. The Indian government imposed curbs on tyre imports on June 12. Apollo Tyres has five plants in India — two in Kerala, two in Tamil Nadu, and one each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Globally, it has a unit each in The Netherlands and Hungary.