Bridgestone Introduces Firestone Tire Brand in Indian Market

India: Tire giant Bridgestone has released its new tire brand namely Firestone FR500 for passenger cars and Firestone Destination LE02 for SUVs. The Firestone brand tires will be manufactured at the company’s manufacturing facilities in Chakan, Pune and Kheda near Indore.

Moreover, the FR500 tire range will be made available in 24 sizes. In addition to this, the rim size diameters will range from 12 inch to 16 inch. However, the other model namely Firestone Destination LE02 will be available in 3 sizes and rim diameter ranging from 15-inch to 16-inch rim. The FR500 brand of tires exhibits features like better wear life and better wet braking performance.

The FR500 is expected to be priced starting from approximately USD33 per unit, whereas the Firestone Destination LE02 will be priced from USD82 per unit. Additionally, the company plans on launching 11 new sizes for SUVs which have high durability features and are expected to hit the market by 2018. Bridgestone will make use of their strong distributor network of over 3,000 retailers to sell these tires from October this year. With the launch of Firestone brand in India the company believes to accumulate about 20 percent share of the replacement market according to Vaibhav Saraf, General Manager, Consumer Products, Bridgestone India.

 “Over the past few years, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing automotive markets in the world. Firestone will focus on the passenger car and SUV segments and subsequently expand the size range. We hope to garner our fair share of the market through a wide network of dealerships and superior quality and service” said, Kazuhiko Mimura, Managing Director, Bridgestone India.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, ”India Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities,2021”, the country’s tire market is forecast to witness a CAGR of over 9% during 2016-2021. Though the replacement tire demand had a majority share in 2015, the OEM tire demand is expected to outpace replacement tire demand during 2016-2021. In 2015, Northern region accounted for the largest share in India’s tire market, followed by Southern, Eastern and Western regions of the country. Over the next five years as well, Northern and Southern regions are forecast to continue their market dominance and grab a cumulative market share of nearly 59% in 2021. Two-wheeler tire segment, which accounted for a volume share of over 50% in the country’s tire market in 2015, is also expected to maintain its position as the largest tire segment over the next five years.