Chennai:
Leading premium tyre manufacturer Continental Tires commences manufacturing various new articles at its Modipuram plant for both the passenger and commercial vehicles segment. The move aligns with the company’s continuing localisation initiatives and supports the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’program. Continental Tires India manufactures 19-inch and 20-inch rim size articles for premium sedans and SUVs. Further, the company introduces Digital Solutions, an added value to the Conti360 fleet solutions for the Commercial Vehicle segment in the Indian market.
The Indian passenger vehicle segment has witnessed a rise in demand for SUV tyres over the past few years, while in the commercial vehicles segment, fleet owners are seeking solutions that will help them monitor their vehicles’ performance through a single, streamlined channel to ensure ease of operations and better profitability. Continental’s new products address the changing tyre needs of Indian customers.
Speaking at the unveiling of the products,Samir Gupta, Managing Director, Continental Tires India, and Head of Central Region BA RE APAC, said, “India is an important market for us. We have continuously invested in India and expanded our portfolio with our ‘In the market, For the market’ strategy. The step towards localising the production of Ultra high performance 19-inch and 20-inch rim size tyres for SUVs and premium vehicles segment and the Digital Solutions for commercial vehicles highlight our further commitment to the Indian market and providing quality tyres suitable for varied Indian road conditions. We are confident that the new locally manufactured articles will give us a competitive advantage and position us better to meet India’s changing and growing tyres needs.”
Speaking at the momentous occasion, Kuldeep Singh, Vice President Manufacturing Continental Tires, Plant Modi Puram, Modipuram, said, “the teams at Modipuram, in collaboration with the R&Dteam, have worked tirelessly to innovate and offer new solutions to fulfil the requirements of the Indian market. We are very pleased with the outcomes. The initiative has increased the expertise to produce new and innovative products locally at the Modipuram plant.”
Continental supports the growing need for SUVs and premium passenger vehicles
The Indian market has seen rapid growth in the SUV and premium passenger vehicles segment in the past decade. However, the tyres for this segment were primarily imported and were not extensively manufactured locally in India. Continental Tires is investing in extensive R&D to address the growing demand and localise the production of tyres for the premium SUV segment. The addition of manufacturing lines for Ultra High performance tyres in 19-inch and 20-inch rim sizes in India is a big step towards localisation, providing a more comprehensive range of tyres to its customers and supporting the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian Government.
At Continental Tires, comfort and safety are paramount in developing every product. The new Ultra High performace 19-inch and 20-inch rim size tyres are from the ContiSportContact 5 and ContiSportContact5 SUV product lines. The tyres are designed to suit challenging conditions seen on Indian roads. The tyres have a greater surface area in contact with the road, which increases their ability to react to changing road conditions, provide outstanding traction, and improve cornering safety.
Digital Solutions to increase ease of operations and profitability
With a customer-centric approach, Continental has been innovating quality solutions for commercial vehicles and fleet owners in India. Under this, the new Digital Solutions by Continental, make it faster and more convenient for fleets to start digital tyre monitoring, thus leading to increases tyre performance and profitability.
Digital Solutions, a part of Conti360 solutions, is an end-to-end completely automated offering for Indian commercial vehicles. The solutions feature sensors that enable 24x7monitoring of tyres on the road where customers can monitor fleet remotely and in real-time.The data helps improve tyre status visibility, in turn increasing vehicle road safety and reducing tyre-related maintenance costs.
