Italian tyre giants Pirelli revealed in an interview to ET Auto that they plan to double up their distribution network to 1200 by the end of 2021. The announcement came at the backdrop of Pirelli's launch of their two mass segment products at the Auto Expo -- The Scorpion MTR and the P7 Evo.
Till now the company had mostly focused on the premium and prestige tyre segments in cars and motorcycles respectively. However, the launch of the p7 Evo and the Scorpion MTR in the voluminous segments of 14, 15 and 16 inches, makes the company a major competitor and will definitely accommodate more dealers owing to the new launches.
"We were majorly selling 17 inch and above but the actual volume is between 14, 15 and 16 inch. Now that we have entered the mass segment, we expect our dealer base to reach 1,200 from 600 by the end of 2021," Akash Singh Rathore, Pirelli Tyres Commercial Director told ETAuto.
For any dealer network profitability is the main criteria that can only be achieved with a wide product range.
Akash Singh Rathore, Commercial Director, Pirelli Tyres to ET Auto
He further elaborated that increasing the product range available to dealers will definitely act as an incentive for them. After all, for any dealer network profitability is the main criteria that can only be achieved with a wide product range. He further added, "With operation in the volume segment, our range is complete now as the company does not wish to go below 14 inch tyres."
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He also noted 14 inch buyers are moving to the premium segment very fast and therefore company's focus on premium and prestige segment will continue. "The industry growth in the car replacement market was between 5-6 per cent last year but the premium and prestige segment was growing by 15-18 per cent," he remarked.
The premium and prestige tyre segment, which constitute 7 per cent of the total tyre industry in India, the company boasts of having a market share of 45 per cent, as suggested by Mr. Rathore. He further added, "As our base is small we have to grow much higher than the industry to grow our market share."
Pirelli's commercial director also commented that he sees the motorcycle radial tyre segment developing into a huge replacement market in the future in India. With increasing number of companies investing heavily in the segment and inventing new technologies, Mr. Rathore remarked that companies can definitely expect a huge replacement demand in the near future.
Headquartered in Milan, Pirelli's operation in India is largely confined to the replacement market with a sale of 18,000 tyres per month and caters to only Mercedes-Benz on the OEM front. At present, the tyre maker currently imports all its tyres from various factories across the world as it does not have manufacturing facilities in India. Pirelli, which is one of the largest players in the world, is expecting between 16-18 per cent growth this year.
Source: ET Auto
