Bridgestone aims to take larger share in India

ERJ staff report (DS)

Kolkata, West Bengal, India -- Bridgestone Corp. has said it wants to capture a third of the growing passenger car market in India and is currently ramping up manufacturing capacity and dealership network across the country.

The company has a production facility at Pithampur near Indore and has announced an investment of Rs 259 crore for expansion. This will increase production capacity by over 40 per cent to 15,000 tyres per day by the middle of next year.

"The Indian market is our top priority in the Asia-Pacific region. We are going to put more focus on the Indian market than ever and are considering and discussing many possibilities for expansion," as commented by Bridgestone Asia Pacific General Manager for Consumer Marketing Department. Yoshihiro Tanabe.

The company also plans to have a dealership network of around 2,300 in the next three years from the existing 2,000-odd dealers, Bridgestone India Senior Deputy General Manager for Marketing Vaibhav Saraf said.

Bridgestone India set up base in India in February 1996 and set up the factory two years later at Kheda near Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The company is one of the leading tyre-makers in both the OEM and replacement markets in the country.

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Press release from Bridgestone