Tyre manufacturer Yokohama India started
their first phase of commercial production in India at their plant in HSIIDC,
Bahadurgarh - Haryana. The current manufacturing capacity of the plant in
Haryana is 2000 tyres per day and in the coming phases of growth the capacity
can be scaled up to 6000 to 8000 tyres per day.
Yokohama India has also introduced a new
range of tyres called Earth-1. These have been specially designed for Indian
road conditions and are recommended for durability, mileage and noise comfort. Hikomitsu
Noji, President and Representative Director of Tyre Business – Yokohama Rubber
Company Japan stated that they required their own manufacturing facility here
in India and had decided to set up their factory at Bahadurgarh - Haryana in
2012.
The international tyre manufacturer is
currently operating on a 2pc share of the total market. Yokohama is only
competing in the tubeless tyre market.
The new Earth-1 tyre has been designed and
manufactured to cater to most of the vehicles in the B, B+ and C segments.
Takeshi Fujino, Managing Director Yokohama India said that the tyres are tough
and can take on rough roads while providing a comfortable and a smooth ride at
the same time. The Earth-1 tyre is claimed to be technologically advanced and
uses a Wear Control Shoulder Design which reduces the wear and tear of the tyre
with a vertical and horizontal grove pattern and this is claimed to also
enhance the quietness of the tyres as well. The Earth-1 tyre comes with a bold
side bar design and a thicker side rubber. The centre rib on the tyre helps in
maximizing performance and the wide straight groves improve control in wet
conditions. Yokohama India plans to launch 25 sizes of the Earth-1 tyre and
another 10 sizes of the S-Drive sports variant tyre.
Takeshi Noji in a comment mentioned that
this commercial production is a true step towards the “Make in India”
philosophy of our Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Yokohama has
approximately 600 points of sale in India including 23 YCNs (Yokohama Club
Networks). In a step towards providing customers with a world class tyre buying
experience Yokohama has set up their YCN operation in India as well. Yokohama
tyres is the original equipment suppliers to many top of the line car
manufacturers like Audi, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche,
Suzuki and Toyota.