Apollo Tyres has announced the roll-out of electric vehicle (EV)-specific tyres for cars and scooters in the Indian market.
While the Apollo Amperion range of tyres are targeted at the electric passenger vehicle segment, Apollo WAV range are meant for electric two-wheelers.
The Gurgaon-based firm did not reveal the price points, but said both the brands will be charged 5 percent more than the tyres meant for Internal Combustion engine (ICE)-centric vehicles.
Satish Sharma, president, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA), Apollo Tyres, said: “We are already in discussions with multiple OEMs in India to supply these tyres for electric vehicles, and will be targeting a lion’s share in the EV space in India, in both PV and two-wheeler segments.”
EV-specific tyres in India
Another home-grown tyremaker, CEAT, has already launched its range of EnergyDrive tyres. However, they are specifically designed for four-wheeler EVs.
Similarly, JK Tyres has also developed a complete range of EV-specific Smart radial tyres for all categories of buses, trucks, LCVs and passenger cars in India.
According to the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA), all large tyre companies, with manufacturing facilities in India, have developed and/or are in the process of developing tyres for EVs as the electric segment is gaining traction across all categories of vehicles, from small two-wheelers to large city buses.
First Indian tyre to get fuel-savings label
Both products of Apollo will be rolled out from the company’s facilities at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and Chinnapanduru village in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh (AP).
The home-grown tyremaker claimed that Apollo Amperion will come with the best-in-class rolling resistance, low noise, electric tread pattern design and aerodynamic sidewalls.
It is also the first Indian tyre to have received fuel savings label with a 5-star rating for the PV category from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), as per the company’s claims.
The products have been designed to cater to EVs like Tata Nexon, MG ZS, Hyundai Kona and other upcoming EVs from Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai etc.
EV tyres for motorcycles next
The company also claimed that Apollo WAV, with its specialised design, low rolling resistance, low weight and high traction to resist the initial torque, will cater to the majority of high-powered electric scooters available in the country such as the TVS iQube, Baja Chetak and Ather 450.
The company plans to develop EV tyres for motorcycles in the next phase, considering the extremely low numbers in this category currently.
As Rajiv Budhiraja, Director General, ATMA, puts it, “With the current EV volumes reaching an estimated 0.5 million units, a large percentage of which is in the 2-3W segment, it is expected that the share of EVs in each segment, especially the passenger vehicle segment, will increase at an accelerated pace. The Indian tyre industry is fully geared and committed to meeting the growing requirement of tyres for EVs in sync with projections of OEMs as well as replacement demand and export opportunities arising therefrom.”
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