[TheVegabond]

Though the move aims at boosting local manufacturing, it kills the competition. Indian manufacturers recently started focusing on quality and comfort. This was because of the fact that buyers started looking for quality rather than cost and durability.
I changed stock tyres in my car to Bridgestone and boy I fell in love with the ride quality. Sad it is that the manufactures will again compete for mileage leading to harder rubber and even harder ride.

[vsrivatsa]

Direct implication of this announcement is that the Tire Dealers have hiked up the prices. On Friday someone I know had a made a deal for 4 x Michelin Primacy 4ST 17inch for 12,700 per tire (235/55R17) for swapping the tires on a New Kia Seltos.

Come Monday, the dealer quoted this Govt rule and said he will now have to pay 13,200 per tire. And he also added that if he did not buy immediately the price may shoot upto 14,000 per tire by evening based on demand. So looks like the prices will soar now on existing stock of Michelins and other imported brands...

[WasavaTyres]

The thread title clearly states "Restricted" , the govt. notification clearly states "Restricted" Then why are so many people here worrying about availability of tyres ?? Have you accessed the DGFT site to read through the entire notification ??
Brands that will see no impact on supply chain ( except for covid related logistics hiccups) : Pirelli (Two and Four wheeler) , Goodyear, Bridgestone , Yokohama , Michelin. As they have registered offices in India and B'stone / Yoko and Goodyear have factories here.
Brands that may or rather will see an impact : Linglong, Kenda, Joyroad, journey etc etc.
The move is more aimed towards these independent importers who are resorting to underinvoicing and using loopholes to evade 'actual' duties. Tyres have apart from the custom duty, anti-dumping duty and now a special duty to dissuade large scale imports.

Originally Posted by avishar

This is the biggest problem with whatever policy that this government has released. Everyone one of them seems to have been made without consultations with experts and without taking into all the parties in confidence. The govt is actually as anti-business as it can be.

In fact the AITMA ( All India tyre manufacturers association) has been lobbying for this for the past 3-4 years now.

Originally Posted by BashfulKlutz

It is not that we don't want to buy locally manufactured materials, but many of them simply haven't reached global quality levels yet. This import restriction will further disincentivise local manufacturers from improving their products. Many motorcycles and scooters below the 150 cc segment are usually shod with Indian tyres, such as our Activa having TVS tyres, and others being equipped with Ceat tyres etc.

All Indian manufacturers have had technical association with some or the other MNC since long. And over time as they upgraded their own setup some stopped and others continue with technical partnerships. JK / Birla / all have tie ups. Apollo bought out Verdestein for access to R&D, Ceat had a 50:50 JV with Goodyear for radial tyres till 2002 iirc.
As for the second part of your post, How are tyre companies to blame if the auto maker decides to keep costs low by opting for a cheaper tyre ?? Can't exactly hold a gun to their head and get them to fit Pirelli on the Activa's rolling out. And just because it is an 'Indian brand' does not make it sub standard. Ceat and TVS two wheeler tyres are good for the segment of vehicles they are designed for.

Originally Posted by mxx

The only reason we started seeing good competent products from Indian manufacturers is because of the competition from global manufacturers(which were not very expensive). With protection from imports, there are no incentives to improve their products. They can just rely on low price or limited availability of imported products.

Indian companies are in their own league now. BKT - pure homegrown brand is one of the most sought after in OTR, special purpose and Industrial / Mining tyres. MRF has a good presence across USA and South America. Couldn't be possible with substandard products !

Originally Posted by Sree

What will happen to the tyres used by high end cars. Are all these run flat and all available among Indian manufacturers.
My Tiguan has something called self sealing tyres. Will these be available freely.

They will be available, simply because the import of tyres has not been 'Banned'. And yes Apollo / JK / Ceat have over the years started manufacturing various sizes.
P.S - The self sealing tyre on your Tiguan isn't puncture proof.

Originally Posted by NiInJa

There is no good reason why Indian tyre companies should continue to exist, as they cannot compete anyway if they are not able to match up with the Chinese, ideally, we can just import them and the consumer wins, no ?

The good reason for Indian tyre companies to exist is that apart from providing means of livelihood to lakhs of 'Indians' they negate our dependency on another country for a essential commodity. What'll we use to keep the trucks and cars from rolling if the chinese start dictating terms ?? Back to bullock carts ?
As for the price factor of cheap chinese tyres, all Indian manufacturers have a cheaper sub brand to take on the chinese tyres. Chinese tyres sold without bill / without warranty whereas e.g. Kelly comes with a bill and unconditional 2 year warranty.
Goodyear / Kelly
Bridgestone / Firestone
JK / has something I forget the name of
Apollo / Kaizen
Michelin and Yokohama do not believe in brand dilution, and their products are anyways not for the price conscious customer. Yokohama for the Indian market still has gone ahead and started offering a unconditional warranty for many of it's regular size tyres.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

Direct implication of this announcement is that the Tire Dealers have hiked up the prices. On Friday someone I know had a made a deal for 4 x Michelin Primacy 4ST 17inch for 12,700 per tire (235/55R17) for swapping the tires on a New Kia Seltos.

Come Monday, the dealer quoted this Govt rule and said he will now have to pay 13,200 per tire. And he also added that if he did not buy immediately the price may shoot upto 14,000 per tire by evening based on demand. So looks like the prices will soar now on existing stock of Michelins and other imported brands...

This just seems to be a greedy dealer. Tyre prices are the same. There is no difference!

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

The thread title clearly states "Restricted" , the govt. notification clearly states "Restricted" Then why are so many people here worrying about availability of tyres ??

Brands that will see no impact on supply chain ( except for covid related logistics hiccups) : Pirelli (Two and Four wheeler) , Goodyear, Bridgestone , Yokohama , Michelin.

The move is more aimed towards these independent importers who are resorting to underinvoicing and using loopholes to evade 'actual' duties.

How are tyre companies to blame if the auto maker decides to keep costs low by opting for a cheaper tyre ??

They will be available, simply because the import of tyres has not been 'Banned'.

The good reason for Indian tyre companies to exist is that apart from providing means of livelihood to lakhs of 'Indians' they negate our dependency on another country for a essential commodity.

Michelin and Yokohama do not believe in brand dilution, and their products are anyways not for the price conscious customer.

Thank you for covering multiple areas with such succinct reasoning. I was surprised to see the ranting on this thread on an enthusiast forum.

I foresee a temporary dip for premium tyres (which is anyway in shortage currently due to the lockdown and disruption in logistics chains), but will bounce back to normal soon. Of course, that is totally dependent on the alarming rise in COVID cases across the country.

[srvm]

Its been 3 months since the Govt imposed the restrictions on import of tyres.
How is the situation now? Is there any short-supply of tyres from any particular brands?
I looking to change my 5-year old Bridgestone B250. Considering Yoko Earth1 and Michelin XM2 as of now.

[sanyam_2612]

Dear All,

I am new to Team-Bhp and is my first post, so admins, if there is any mistake, please forgive.

This thread had almost been dead since 2011, but due to recent regulation changes, i have been facing this issue again, does anybody else faced it in recent past.

Background:
I just bought a new C43 AMG in June 2020. After I completed my first lonavala run in July 2020, the next day morning i noticed the front left tyre has a bulge on the sidewall. I immediately called up my sales person to claim warranty and he promptly booked an appointment with the service centre. 2 days after my car reached the service centre, i received an email from them, stating that my warranty claim has been approved, however since there is a tyre shortage, they dont have any tyre with them now.

The only tyre they had was an old 2018 manufactured tyre. Now after waiting for so many months also, they cant seem to find another tyre since imports are banned. They have also given me the permission to purchase from outside but unfortunately no tyre is available with any dealer as well.

Now i am in a situation whether should i wait for the situation to resolve, or option 2 go for the old tyre of 2018 which mercedes benz have in stock.

Tyre Details: Continental Contisport 5p, 225/45/ZR18

[achyutaghosh]

Originally Posted by sanyam_2612

i received an email from them, stating that my warranty claim has been approved, however since there is a tyre shortage, they dont have any tyre with them now.

The only tyre they had was an old 2018 manufactured tyre. Now after waiting for so many months also, they cant seem to find another tyre since imports are banned. They have also given me the permission to purchase from outside but unfortunately no tyre is available with any dealer as well.

Now i am in a situation whether should i wait for the situation to resolve, or option 2 go for the old tyre of 2018 which mercedes benz have in stock.

Tyre Details: Continental Contisport 5p, 225/45/ZR18

Am in the same boat. Was looking to change the Yokohama Bluearths on my Compass. The options easily available are the stock Firestones and Bridgestones which are not great. Everything else is an import which is no longer available due to the ban. The ones that are available are more than a year old.

However, dealers do expect the situation to change in next few months.

[Artyom]

I have observed that Falkens are available readily and have heard that they are good for what they offer.
I have seen them selling like hot cakes.
Any reviews would be appreciated.

[Entsurgeon]

The situation is even more grim for superbike owners. Many of my fellow riders have already ordered replacement shoes for their rides so that they don't face any downtime until 2022. Even i was tempted. But the tire of my choice isnt available any where- Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa 2. Hope this situation resolves yesterday.

[ajmat]

Thanks to Bangalore's "Smart" Roads, my wife damaged the sidewall of her Polo. Went to Madhu's to get a replacement but no Michelins will be available till perhaps next year. I will not mix my tyres and I will not scrap my year old tyres.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by srvm

Its been 3 months since the Govt imposed the restrictions on import of tyres.
How is the situation now? Is there any short-supply of tyres from any particular brands?
I looking to change my 5-year old Bridgestone B250. Considering Yoko Earth1 and Michelin XM2 as of now.

Yes, I cannot get a replacement Michelin tyre from regular sources. Need to ask around

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Yes, I cannot get a replacement Michelin tyre from regular sources. Need to ask around

Did you try Amazon? I know the manufacturing date of the tyre will be unknown till you get the delivery but you can try it once.

[Artyom]

My Cousin is in the Tyre business and deals in most of the brands.
He thinks it will take around 3-4 months minimum before the supplies become regular with Michelins based upon his sources.
Alternate options he suggested are Continentals which are Made in India.
Yokohamas which are imports but are not being affected by the new ruling that much. Bridgestones are priced at a premium so not everyone is comfortable with them.

[sachinwadhwani]

Yup! Nothing available for my ADV motorcycle either. I have reasonably new tyres but I want a back up set because of the situation and nothing available.