Metro Tyres plans to roll out tubeless motorcycle tyres mainly for overseas markets to cater to global giants like Honda, BMW and Yamaha. They will be made in India with the technical support of Continental AG of Germany. The tyres will be sold in the local market at a later stage.

Managing director, Continental AG of Germany, Jorg Essiger said his company was seeing a huge demand for tubeless motorcycle tyres in Asia. “To meet this growing market, we are rolling out tubeless motorcycle tyres in partnership with Metro Tyres for which Continental is providing the required technical know how,” he told Autocar Professional.

India, he said was going to be a major export hub for the two-wheeler industry specially motorcycles. Metro will make these tubeless tyres in its plant at Ludhiana, Punjab. It is in the process of upgrading and installing the required infrastructure. Metro has invested over 40 crore in its plant in Ludhiana. Part of the machinery has come from Continental and the rest sourced from other leading manufacturers in the world.

Managing director, Metro Tyres, Rummy Chhabra said that it would be the first company in India to roll out tubeless tyres for motorcycles. “Keeping in mind the growth rate of Indian two wheeler industry, we foresee a huge demand for tubeless motorcycle tyres in domestic market,” he said.

The company recently doubled production of Metro-Continental motorcycle tyres to 50,000 units a month and, in the next 8-10 months, will raise it further to 100,000 tyres. Metro’s focus is on the replacement market and it is targeting 10 percent market share here. Metro is also setting up a new productio facility for motorcycle, scooter and three wheelers tyres, at an estimated project cost of over 50 crore in the tax-free zones of north India.

It has also got ECE approval from the European Union (EU) for exporting its motorcycle tyres to the region and is the first Indian two-wheeler tyre company to qualify for this. It has also begun despatching tyres to Continental. Chhabra said Metro has set aside Rs 4 crore for advertising and promotional plans. Its turnover is expected to reach Rs 400 crore by the end of this fiscal, of which exports will be close to Rs 60 crore.