German tyre manufacturer aims to tap the double-digit market growth opportunity for big SUV and luxury car tyres which will be localised at its Modipuram plant whose TBR section will now be repurposed to produce large tyres measuring above 20 inches.
13 Jun 2025 | 2047 Views | By Mayank Dhingra
German tyre manufacturer Continental has pulled the plug on its local manufacturing of truck-and-bus radials (TBRs) in India. The company, which saw the business struggling due to the extreme price sensitivity of the TBR segment, took the tough call and finally ceased TBR manufacturing operations at its Modipuram (Uttar Pradesh) ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
German tyre manufacturer Continental has pulled the plug on its local manufacturing of truck-and-bus radials (TBRs) in India. The company, which saw the business struggling due to the extreme price sensitivity of the TBR segment, took the tough call and finally ceased TBR manufacturing operations at its Modipuram (Uttar Pradesh) plant on June 2.
The TBR section of the plant will now be repurposed to produce large tyres – above 20-inch size – to cater to the growing number of SUVs and luxury cars in India. In a recent interaction with Autocar Professional, Samir Gupta, MD, Continental Tires India, revealed that the company had been critically evaluating its business, including manufacturing operations for quite some time. “What we found out is that the TBR segment is a highly cost-sensitive category, and despite being able to deliver some best-in-class products, there was less consumer willingness to pay for those tyres due to intense competition from regional players.”
“Therefore, while we were able to generate value for the customer, it was getting difficult to achieve profitable growth in the segment,” Gupta highlighted as the key concern for the company’s exit from the TBR tyre category in the Indian market.
Continental will now shift its India focus towards passenger-car radials (PCR) or in the company’s global terminology – passenger and light-truck (PLT) tyres – which are delivering robust business growth.
“On the other hand, when we see the PLT business, it is a completely different business dynamic, wherein the whole environment looks very positive. When we see the passenger vehicle industry in India, the vehicles are changing significantly, and more utility vehicles and premium cars are now being sold in the market. Overall, there is a premiumisation trend which is sweeping the market, and that means tyre sizes are going up. This aligns with our overall strategy and competency of making bigger car tyres,” Gupta said.
New passenger and light-truck tyre line at Modipuram plant
Continental has announced plans to invest Rs 100 crore into the Modipuram facility in Meerut to instal machines and transform the erstwhile TBR line into one that will roll out passenger car and SUV tyres over the course of the next 18-24 months, which, as per Gupta, is the normal gestation period that it takes for readying such a manufacturing line.
The new PLT line at Modipuram will add incremental volumes to Continental’s overall PLT capacity, and according to Gupta, “we are expecting a double-digit percentage increment in our current production capacity.” He further pointed out that more than capacity, the investment will bring capability to produce bigger size passenger car and SUV tyres at this facility. “Several luxury cars and SUVs today are coming with 20-, 21-, 22-, and 23-inch tyres, and it is important that we start serving the needs of those customers, and that is why we have decided to localise even those sizes at Modipuram,” he added.
“While it may not be big today, it is the fastest growing segment in India. Based on our study, we expect the utility vehicle and premium car segment to grow at a CAGR of over 25% in the next five years in India,” pointed out Gupta.