NEW DELHI: Apollo Tyres on Thursday said it will intensify focus on the sports utility (SUV) segment with the introduction of its Apollo Apterra AT2. This all-terrain tyre will complement Apollo’s existing Apterra range including specialised Highway Luxury, Highway Terrain, High Performance and the All Terrain tyres for SUVs.
The company aims to cater to the all-terrain market in India, which currently produces approximately 15,000 tyres per month. It will introduce eight sizes in phase 1, intended for vehicles like Endeavour, Fortuner, Pajero, Force One, Scorpio, XUV 500 and Hexa. Another six sizes of the tire would be launched in phase 2. Together, the range will cover over 90 per cent of the all-terrain vehicle market.
“We are sharpening our focus on the SUV segment in India with specialised tyres for different terrains, as this vehicle segment is growing faster than passenger cars. The excellent test results and global efforts that have gone into developing the Apollo Apterra AT2, give us the confidence that this tyre will set a new benchmark in the all-terrain tyre space, and will further propel our leadership in the SUV segment,” said Satish Sharma, president (Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa), Apollo Tyres.
Designed and developed as a collaborative effort between the two Global R&D Centres — at Enschede in Netherlands and at Chennai in India — and a cross-functional team comprising members from several deparment, Apterra AT2 will be produced at Apollo’s Vadodara unit in Gujarat.