Continental Tyres India will introduce 'Intelligent Tyres' for the commercial vehicle market.

The CrossContact HT line, essentially a line to boost highway safety, is another item planned for this year.

In the first quarter of 2023, Continental Tires India will begin selling its Intelligent tyres for the commercial vehicle market.

Furthermore, this year, the company will focus on improving its existing solutions in the Indian market, according to Samir Gupta, Managing Director, Continental Tires India, and Head of Central Area, BA Tires APAC.

Continental Tyres currently employs over 1,400 people across its activities and runs one manufacturing unit in Modipuram, where it manufactures tyres for both domestic and international demand.

The company sell commercial vehicles to a few Asian countries. The Modipuram factory is primarily intended for India. As a result, even in the commercial vehicle class, more than 90% of total production would be for the domestic market, with only approximately 10% exported.

Emerging new technologies

I-tyres is a technology, not a separate tyre design, designed specifically for tubeless tyres. The automotive branch of the firm created these sensors, which are installed in tubeless tyres.

The goal is to improve the safety of commercial vehicles on Indian highways. Consumers in the passenger vehicle market are far more concerned about safety than those in the commercial vehicle segment.

Furthermore, Gupta says that the fact that tubeless tyres are used by a considerably smaller market — only 5-6 per cent of the commercial sector utilizes tubeless tyres — demonstrates the segment's growth potential in India.

The CrossContact HT line and PC6 line are other items planned for this year in addition to the I-tyres. CrossContact HT line will boost highway safety. APC6 line is the successor line to the ContiSportsContact line.

Continental now sells products in two categories: commercial vehicles and passenger automobiles. Bias tyres and radial tyres are produced in the commercial segment; passenger automobile tyres ranging from 13-inch to 20-inch are made in India.

The company is planning to increase at a rate of 15 to 20% over the next year or two and will continue to improve production capacities for SUV tyres. The commercial vehicle segment will concentrate on digitalization, safety, and tire technology, as well as bringing these technologies to market.

Capital expenditures

"In the last ten years, we have invested more than 1,000 crores in the Modipuram facility as capital expenses," the MD stated of the company's capex plans.