Goodyear forays into automotive filters, batteries in India's aftermarket

The Gurugram-based Assurance Intl Limited Incorporation (Assurance Intl), which was incorporated in 2017, and partnered with the US-based global tyre giant - Goodyear - in 2020, has ventured into India's aftermarket with a range of automotive filters, and batteries under the Goodyear brand.

While it has been offering Goodyear-branded lubricants in the country since 2021, the company has expanded its portfolio and unveiled a new range of automotive filters and batteries, which claims to offer longer life cycles and superior performance. The company claims that with their spill-proof design, the Goodyear automotive batteries offer good cranking power and longevity.

Assurance Intl further claims that the Goodyear filters are made with high-quality materials which help provide operational reliability to vehicles. The Goodyear automotive filter range comprises air, oil, cabin, and fuel filters for motorbikes, passenger cars, SUVs, tractors, trucks, as well as construction, industrial and marine equipment.

Assurance Intl will leverage its over 260-partner-strong distribution channel to make these parts available across 16,000 retail outlets in the aftermarket across India when these filters and batteries go on sale around end-August 2023.

The company will also expand into markets outside India, and serve and provide after-sales assistance to its customers in 17 countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and New Zealand markets among others, where it already has a  strong presence.

"We are adapting ourselves continually to cater to our customer's needs, and we are looking to cross leverage our strength in lubricants and successfully foray into filters. We aim to be among the top 5 automotive filter brands and achieve a 5 percent market share by 2025," said Sanjay Sharma, Chief Business Officer, Assurance Intl. 

"We want to focus on all the fast-growing segments, and therefore will offer our range of filters and batteries for two-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, as well as off-highway vehicles," he added.

The company sees an annual revenue potential of close to Rs 50 crore from automotive filters, which is a market of about Rs 1,500 crore in India's aftermarket.

On the other hand, the company will introduce its VRLA batteries for two-wheelers under its SprintMax brand, offering 48 months warranty on its products, whereas the sealed-maintenance-free (SMF) batteries for passenger cars and SUVs, will come with a warranty ranging from 18 to 66 months.

The company's battery portfolio will be offered in more than 80 SKUs, and Assurance Intl aims to be among the top 3 players in the Indian aftermarket by 2026 in this growing product category, targeting a revenue potential of Rs 500 crore in three years. It also intents to be a prominent player in the South East Asian market. 

According to Charu Saxena, Chief Sales Officer, India and South Asia, Assurance Intl, "We are eyeing a revenue potential of Rs 200 crore from the automotive battery product line in the first year, with the consolidated revenue likely touching Rs 500 crore by 2026. We have appointed 74 new distributors who have a reach of catering to over 1500 retail touchpoints across India, and we aim to grow the number of distributors to 300 by end-2023."