Apollo suspends production at Indian plants

Gurgaon, India – Apollo Tyres has suspended production at its manufacturing sites in India as the country enters a lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

The tire maker halted operations at its side in Kalamassery and Perambra, Kerala; Limda, Gujarat and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, company spokesman Rohit Sharan said in a written statement to ERJ 25 March.

The plants will remain shut until further directives are issued by the government and employees have been instructed to work from home, he added.

India entered a 21-day “total lockdown” as of 25 March in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country. 

Earlier this week, Apollo announced that it was was scaling back production at its European plants in Hungary and The Netherlands as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19 in the region.

As of 27 March, the company will cease the production of passenger car tires, initially for two weeks, at its facility in Enschede, The Netherlands, the Indian-headquartered tire maker announced 23 March.

To support ‘the strong demand’ for agricultural tires across Europe, Apollo Vredestein said it would continue the production of “specific critical tire sizes” under strict measures and only in line with local health advisory. 

In Hungary, the tire maker will shut down its manufacturing factory in Gyöngyöshalász for two weeks starting 28 March.