The Indian automobile market is growing at a rapid pace and is among the largest market for two-wheelers across the globe. Among all the two-wheelers sold, commuter two wheelers comprise of more than 80% of the market share. Hence, it is a big market for auto ancillaries, especially tyre manufacturers. Looking at the potential of the Indian two wheeler market, Maxxis tyres recently entered India. We got in touch with Bing Lin-Wu, Marketing & Sales Head, Maxxis Tyres India to understand the prospects, opportunities and market in India.
Tell us about the Maxxis brand
Maxxis is one of the world’s fastest growing tyre brands and the youngest to be amongst the top 10 tyre companies, globally. The company’s global product portfolio includes tyres for passenger cars, two-wheelers, light trucks, trucks, buses, ATV’s and agricultural & industrial vehicles. With over five decades of globally rich experience in manufacturing world-class tyres, Maxxis has maintained very strong manufacturing guidelines across 180 countries. Currently, we are present in 6 continents with 21 manufacturing plants and 5 R&D Centres worldwide.
What are your product offerings for the Indian market?
The India facility is currently dedicated to manufacturing of two-wheeler tyres and tubes. At present, we have an OE partnership with Honda for Activa scooters. For the replacement market, a significant range of Maxxis tyres are suited for popular models such as Bajaj (Discover), Hero (HF-Deluxe, Splendor I-Smart, Glamour, Duet, Destini, Passion, Maestro), Honda (Activa, CB Shine, Aviator, Dream Yuga), Suzuki (Access, Hayate, Burgman), Mahindra (Gusto, Centuro), TVS (Jupiter, Wego , Star City ,Victor), Piaggio (Vespa), Yamaha (Ray, Fascino , Saluto) and many others.
What are Maxxis plans for the India market and what is future growth strategy?
Presently, we work as an OEM partner for India’s most loved two-wheeler brand Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Limited, we are exploring newer alliances with other OEM players and our endeavour is to become the most preferred partner of choice in the two-wheeler segment for both motorcycles and scooters.
Furthermore, the replacement market in India is quite big and offers great prospects for us. We are keen to capitalize on this opportunity and our aim is to capture atleast 15% share of India’s 2-wheeler tyre market by 2023. We have grown our footprint in the market with 1000+ dealers in a short span of 12 months and for next year our target will be to generate sales from the already on-boarded dealerships and continue new appointments at a steady pace.
How are your products different from the competitors?
Maxxis is the tyre for the next generation with a strong customer first approach. We have the highest quality product offering which is a combination of superior raw material and world-class technology. We have utmost confidence in the quality of all our products and hence are offering the best schemes and transparent claim resolution to our customers, including the industry-best 5+1 unconditional warranty with Maxxis 2-wheeler tyres.
We want to offer our customers a seamless and easy replacement service which no other brand is offering right now. Our idea is to build customer trust and hence, we provide a hassle free ‘no questions asked’ replacement covering both manufacturing and non-manufacturing defects that cause the tyres to become unserviceable. This warranty is valid for five years from the date of manufacture.
What opportunities do you foresee in the India market?
The need for mobility is immense in India, and the country is amongst the fastest developing economies in the world. Around 17.7 million two-wheelers were sold in India in 2017 and it is further expected to increase considerably. In India, we feel that the future demand will come from the commuter segment bikes with 150-200cc; 350cc as young bike enthusiasts and professionals prefer to drive a 200cc bike that gives great performance and mileage.
We are closely monitoring the India market and steadily coming up with solutions that India wants. With our extensive product portfolio, we are already catering to users of all segments from across age groups, globally. From electric scooters in East Asia to super sport bikes in Europe, Maxxis tyres have become the preferred choice for the users. With our technological prowess and already established global portfolio, we are ready to cater to the demands no matter what direction India’s 2-wheeler industry takes.
How manufacturing in India will help Maxxis achieve its goal of scaling up in the India market?
Maxxis tyres for a majority of the categories were being imported for the India market. However, looking at the current Indian automobile landscape, the opportunities are boundless and hence, after serving the market as a distributor for over a decade, we realized that it was time we advanced towards setting up Maxxis’s own business arm in the country.
The localisation in manufacturing will help Maxxis scale its footprint in the India market and securing trust amongst the OEM’s in India. To capitalise on this growing opportunity, Maxxis Tyres has invested over $400 million in setting up the plant in India. We are committed to Government of India’s Make in India initiative and our robust manufacturing facility with new age technology will harness Maxxis group’s production excellence.
Tell us about your manufacturing facility
Our Sanand facility is currently dedicated to manufacturing 2-Wheeler tyres and tubes with a capacity to produce 20,000 tyres and 40,000 tubes per day, we plan to set up 5 more plants in India which will also cater to the 4-wheeler tyres market. Our target is to capture a market share of at least 15% of India’s two-wheeler tyre market by 2023. Apart from catering to the domestic tyre market, the product portfolio from the Sanand facility will be exported to South Asia and will further expand to Africa and Middle East countries in the coming years.
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