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-   -   Govt. imposes severe restrictions on tyre imports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-alloy-wheel-section/223509-govt-imposes-severe-restrictions-tyre-imports-4.html)

Quite strange i say just got michelin 205/55/16 for my city 2020 here in delhi feb 2020 tyre absolutely no fuss whatsoever, options were yokos, pirelli and michelin

Problem is with larger sizes that some independent traders used to Import without ISI mark. Usually, these will be for higher sizes, like in 19 inches and beyond.

But it will soon extend (if not happened already in certain cities/ sizes) to some brands like Michelin/ Pirelli which are import dependent and don't have production in India. Earlier they used to import a larger batch by getting ISI stamp from overseas. They will have to develop some common sizes in India in near future, but I doubt any manufacturer will put up a line for 19 or 20 or 21 inches. It's very complicated & expensive setup.

Not sure about north, but down south, even with regular sizes (15 and 16) its getting difficult to obtain from brands like Michelin/ Pirelli. Tried in vain for R16 Michelins and then ended up with the newer Conti ultracontact UC6.

Surprised to see this thread active, as no such issues heard of, atleast in East Bangalore. My relative owns a two wheeler spares shop in Kolar, checked with him and even he is not facing any issues with tyre supplies.

Was speaking to one of the big tyre manufacturers in early November. The supply crisis is very real. Some OEMs are prioritising OEM supplies to maintain relations with the car manufacturers, even though its the replacement market that gives them the margins.

The way this seems to be going, I dont foresee a long term solution in sight. How about need for the basic, on-the-road vehicles? If they ever need a replacement right away, I hope market is able to supply at least that so as to not leave them high and dry.

This is worrying. I too run on Michelins on both my cars. I always buy only 4 tyres when I upsize, guess most of us follow that. Now it isn't a bad idea to have a spare tyre too in same profile if availability is going to be an issue.

What do you plan to do now?

The problem is exaggerated for premium vehicles running uncommon sizes. Also, for big bikes there is a massive shortage of tyres in the market, since all of those sizes used to be imported. Most of the premium bike tyre suppliers such as Pirelli, Metzeler, Michelin, etc. have absolutely no stocks anywhere.

Some of the vendors are even digging into their scrapyard and making a killing by disposing off 4-5 year old tyre stocks :D

This situation will soon reach a stage where vehicle owners will be forced to ration their usage for fear of getting stranded without tyre replacements. I have just ~3000 km of life left in the OE tyres on one of my bikes and have started rationing the usage, hoping things will settle down in a few months :)

I simply cannot agree with you more on every word you wrote. Our current policies are headed to take us back to the 80s era.

Buying a decent tyre for a superbike is near impossible today. I had to somehow compromise and get a set which was Dec 2018 and Jan 2019 - one month before I actually need them because this was one of the last two sets of that vintage. The rest are even older. I have heard from some sources (repeating as is, not verified) that some unscrupulous dealers have gotten some sophisticated machines to restamp dates on older tyres.

This is just one example.

In other similar measures, I was inquiring about riding boots for a new rider friend. I was informed that boot imports are in limbo because every single piece of imported footwear - whether it is a hawaii chappal or a motorcycling boot or a Ferragamo shoe has been put under BIS - which means there are a range of associated costs that have to be met and procedures complied with for each model of each brand you want to import. Who will do that for brands which sell not more than 40 - 50 pairs in a year. And who are they trying to protect with BIS on footwear. For a country where the poor don't have food to eat and anyone from rich to poor is traveling on disastrous public infra - are we saying the govt cares about the standard of footwear each person wears? Whether it is incompetent governance or sheer corrupt legislative / adminstrative intent, either way we are headed towards a shit show.

The same almost happened with helmet certification where the revised criteria was a joke. Basically a Rs. 1500 Vega / Studds helmet would qualify where the best rated Arai or Shoeis or multiple others would not even have qualified merely on the weight criteria alone.

The tyre shortage for imported high rim size tyres is real I wanted two Michelin 255/55/R18 Pilot 4 but no dealer was ready to sell two. Some were quoting 10% higher claiming non availability.

I had to contact the Area Sales Manager who then arranged two tyres at the recommended price. I was told no imports/supplies have come in after May 2020. That is the position in A'Bad.

I has posted earlier in this thread that this is going to be a protection racket, ensuring useless local brands are forced on customers. This would have been OK on HM/PAL cars that went nowhere really fast, it would be a disaster on modern cars. I think I will be stuck with OEM MRFs when I get my new car, it'll surely sour the experience.

This new license raj is going to be just as corrosive as the old one, combined with increasing digitisation, expect harassment at a micro level. Tyre shortages in 2020, anybody would have seen that coming given our history of cronies scoring licenses.

Good news, I managed to source a replacement Michelin. My person managed to find one through his network

The problem of availability of good imported tyres is real and acute.

I have been trying to source 235/55 R17 for my Creta (double upsize), but none of my contacts have it starting shortage. They can have it arranged at 20% higher cost.

My current tyres (225/55 R17) Michelin have alreay run 55K kms (Odo stands at 1.23 Lakh kms). The tyres are good for at least 15K kms ~ 3 months. I hope the situation gets better by then.

Tried getting Michelin Sirac Street for my bike recently in Gurgaon. No luck. The workshop guy mentioned Michelins in general are in short supply.
Amazon (CloudTail) has them on sale but I am hesitant to buy online since they have a no-return/no-exchange policy for this item.

Who gains from this import ban? Sellers lose margins. Govt loses taxes. Customers lose peace of mind.
They could have increased duties to make imports of regular tires less attractive. This blanket ban is not serving anyone's interest.