With a flood of high-end cars entering India, Apollo Tyres thought it the right time to launch its new Acelere Sportz range of premium V-speed rated tubeless radials recently, which the company claims can run safely upto 240-kmph. According to Apollo, these are the first asymmetric tread tyres launched in India, which offer great grip in dry and wet driving conditions, better handling and good straight line stability.
These tyres will be priced at a premium and are meant for sedans like the Aveo, Fiesta, City, Octavia, Accord, Superb, Mercedes models as well as Audi’s A4 and A6 luxury models. At present, the company has a 15 percent market share of the Indian tubeless tyre market and with this new launch expects this to grow to 20 percent.
Apollo has extensively tested the Sportz at leading German testing authority ATP Papenburg owned by DaimlerChrysler. During the 12 months of testing and development at this facility the Sportz was fitted to modern European sedans like the Mercedes and Audi range of cars. Apollo also carried out noise testing for this tyre in Spain and has obtained the moulds from Korea. The company is targeting the young and informed car owner who enjoys driving.
Apollo has used an eco-friendly silica gel compound in their construction which results in improved wet weather grip and lower rolling resistance. It also helps the tyres run silently and they already meet Euro 2009 tyre noise norms. Neeraj Kanwar, joint MD, told Autocar Professional that while cheaper Chinese tyres was a matter of concern for the tyre industry, he has not seen any upsurge in their supply in recent months. He also felt that Chinese tyre companies did not have the kind of service levels of their Indian counterparts.