MRF to pump in Rs 2,000 crore for new facility in Gujarat
CHENNAI: Leading tyre manufacturer MRF intends to invest Rs 4,000 crore in its new facility in Gujarat, which will come up by 2020. The company will pump in around Rs 2,000 crore to begin Phase-I of the Gujarat facility, which will produce the entire range of tyres.
In a bid to tap the growing luxury market, MRF on Tuesday unveiled its premium and luxury range of tyres called Perfinza. The firm claimed to be the first OEM Indian car tyre manufacturer to be approved by a German carmaker as a replacement. Perfinza tyres will cater to the 15- to 18-inch segment.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, vice-chairman and managing director of MRF Arun Mammen said nearly 75 per cent of its revenues come from the replacement market where its brand enjoys a premium, and the remaining comes from supplies to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Mammen noted that the company has been investing around Rs 1,000 crore every year and will continue to do so as it intends to extend its revenue to around Rs 22,000 crore by 2020. Koshy K Varghese, executive vice-president (marketing) of MRF, noted that the tyre industry has been asking the government to impose anti-dumping duty for long. Such a move could boost tyre makers’ profit by 10-15 per cent, say analysts.
Ruling out worries from Chinese competition, Mammen said, “We were facing Chinese competition earlier but now that we are dealing with the entire world, we can take on competitions in any part of the world with our quality products.”
Although it could store itself somewhat from de-stocking, MRF could hardly spare itself from rising raw material prices and anticipates RM prices to move up further. During the launch, Varghese added Perfinza tyres are available for over 60 models on sale in 122 cities across the country. The range is released initially for the domestic market and will be later released for export markets.