Michelin India Technology Centre has been operating for over five years. Could you highlight how the centre has been playing its role in research and development for Michelin's domestic and international markets?

The centre has grown over the years in terms of developing competencies and delivering products and solutions to businesses in the local market, region and globally. The agility and flexibility in delivery of solutions to sustainable mobility is one of our key strengths. The product solutions that are developed in conjunction with other regional teams have the cutting edge, keeping Michelin ahead of the curve. The gender and domain diverse team at the centre has brought unique dimensions to meet customer aspirations specific to different vehicle platforms. There are forward looking concepts and products that are being developed in different life cycle stages by the team in India that have upgraded their skills due to their world class training. Our teams are also exposed to global norms and developments in mature markets, thus enabling them to bring in such perspectives while developing products in the domestic market. 

What will drive the Indian truck and bus tyre market in future?

This is very interesting and all of us have seen a reset of a new normal due to Covid-19 in ways we are conducting the different facets of our businesses. The Indian market is smart, agile and ahead in their thought process compared to some of the other markets. The digital solutions, smarts, AI and services will drive the Indian truck and bus tyre market. Customers, whether they own transportation fleets or personal vehicles, want the worry-free ‘fit and forget’ tyre solutions. At Michelin, we have many such services, charging cost per kilometre to customers, which have been deployed in mature markets as well as in India, allowing our customers to focus on other aspects of their business models or personal routines.

The other driving factor will be ‘smarts’ in the tyre industry. The embedded chips in tyres for V2X interfaces are a huge opportunity for the mobility ecosystem with a vast application playfield that includes monitoring tear wear, tyre rotation periods, driver behaviour, inputs fed to active integrated suspensions for ride comfort, adjusting speed depending on terrain for safety and ergonomics of driver comfort as well as cargo movement.

Advanced materials will change the game with growing percentages of recycled rubber in tyre design and manufacturing. These will be an enabler in reducing carbon footprint of a vehicle and the holistic ecosystem including tyre dust. Faster curing materials, self-sealing tyres are around the corner in India. There are pilots and that will be the real ‘aah-ha’ moment for the industry and consumers. 

The centre also has a material testing lab. Sustainable raw materials are growing focus of tyre companies. What are the activities of the centre in the material testing space?

Materials, we believe, will be the strategic edge of our products and solutions as mentioned earlier. The centre does leverage material testing, monitoring various aspects of product development. The automation of test data for faster evaluation and upstream design actions is an important aspect with regard to speed to market. This is something that our teams are good at creatively innovating at the centre and the lab downstream.  

How do you distinguish the product requirements for developed and developing countries?

It is not the product but the solutions and services that are adapted for different regions. This is decided based on local regulations and norms, and the ecosystem and the infrastructure available there to support it. Product development also considers the tech savviness in the totem poles of the customers. The smartness in deploying the right solutions at the right price, at the right time will continue to be a distinguishing and winning factor for us across the globe.

MITC joined hands with IIT Bombay and ARAI. According to you, how will the new mobility shape in India, and how are you preparing, through R&D work, to offer the customised products in India?

This is one amazing aspect of India that we believe can be leveraged to the advantage of the Indian ecosystem. The Indian competitiveness for delivering ‘more customer value with lesser resources’ will help Michelin progress with these engagements. We will have students exposed to mature markets, working with global academia and experienced Michelin engineers to straight-on take the lead in their careers and solution mindset. We are confident that these and such partnerships are the diving boards to our collective growth. To use the cricket analogies, we are here to play well, in both the T20 and the test matches, and we are building teams that can switch on and off the pace between such situations due to their exposure, mentoring and talent acceleration.    

Will you be open to more partnerships in India?

The power of Collective Intelligence is second to none when it comes to delivering smarts to our customers through such valuable partnerships. The centre is already working with few of the academic institutions in India and is in discussions with the right-minded players that are on the same page. We have a clear understanding of ‘where to play’ as it forms our evaluation matrix when we are exploring start-ups, incubation parks and innovation accelerators. We will continue this journey as it helps with the step-change in the Indian ecosystem on many aspects of mobility and related solutions that are beneficial to all stakeholders.

According to you, what are the more significant challenges for scientists and engineers in the tyre industry?

Challenges are to find, train and retain individuals with the right kind of skill-sets. The gestation period to train and get an engineer to deliver high quality smart solutions requires patience and commitment. The more experienced scientists and engineers are at cross roads to delegate to the pipeline of talent that graduates out of our engineering institutions in their early professional journey. The infra and technical power needs to grow in India since the AI solutions and digitalisation can be catapulted very well in an existing innovation mindset for deployment. The race to get to the senior positions without developing a depth in domains is a challenge and not sustainable for growth in the long term. Talent in AI and data analytics tied to tyre and mobility domains is growing, but this talent is enticed by other non-mobility industries, creating a churn and dampening the speed to market and ability to provide attractive solutions and products to our customers. (TT)

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Doublestar Tire, a leading Chinese tyre manufacturer, recently showcased its flagship products at the 139th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, held in Guangzhou. The event reached a record scale, gathering exhibitors from over 210 countries and regions and highlighting cutting-edge technologies in advanced manufacturing, new energy and low-carbon environmental protection.

Doublestar presented three specialised tyres. The TBR mining tyre D170 was developed for complex mining conditions with enhanced wear, cut and puncture resistance. The new OTR tyre DFA603 offers high loading capacity, safety and durability, boosting support for construction machinery. The PCR star product DH03 provides superior road grip, low rolling resistance, fuel economy, reliable braking and reduced noise for driving comfort.

The company’s participation demonstrated its continuous research and innovation in professional fields and reaffirmed its commitment to overseas markets. Doublestar aims to provide safer, more energy-efficient and intelligent tyre products and travel solutions, earning widespread professional recognition.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Continental is showcasing ‘The Sound of Premium’, an immersive installation, at Milan Design Week 2026 held at BASE Milano from 20 to 26 April. The experience translates the brand’s advanced tire engineering into a multisensory journey, redefining how urban mobility sounds. Key technologies on display included Continental’s noise-reducing ContiSilent and Urban Silent Technology, which actively lower rolling noise through sound-absorbing materials inside the tire and tread patterns optimised for city speeds.

Cities are dense with movement and noise, where even invisible elements like tyres shape the acoustic environment. Continental’s technologies reduce road noise at its source, enhancing both driving stability and interior comfort. The installation invites visitors to reconsider urban sound not as a nuisance to be eliminated but as an element that can be precisely engineered and controlled.

The exhibition unfolds in three distinct phases: chaos, harmony and quiet. Layered city sounds first create tension and disorientation, then gradually dissolve as rhythm and balance emerge. The journey ends in a state of calm defined not by silence alone but by acoustic precision. A tyre displayed as a design object underscores how engineering can improve urban well‑being.

An interactive installation of 25 touch points allows visitors to shape their own sound environment in real time, activating different acoustic layers through touch. Each participant creates a personal composition reflecting their rhythm and sensitivity. The resulting experience can be recorded and shared via QR code, extending the dialogue between technology and individual expression beyond the exhibition space.

As electric vehicles become more widespread, rolling noise has grown into a dominant source of urban traffic sound. Continental meets this challenge by applying its expertise at the tyre‑road interface, developing measurable reductions in interior noise. Through ‘The Sound of Premium’, the company positions silence not as emptiness but as a performance feature.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Nokian Tyres plc has introduced a new long-term share-based incentive plan for management and key employees, as the company seeks to align executive rewards with shareholder returns.

The board of directors said the Performance Share Plan (PSP) would cover the company’s management and selected key personnel, with the aim of supporting shareholder value creation and reinforcing commitment to strategic objectives.

The plan, titled PSP 2026–2030, comprises three separate plan periods, each with a three-year performance cycle followed by the payment of potential share rewards. The start of each period will be determined by the board, and any rewards will be paid in company shares.

The first phase, PSP 2026–2028, will assess performance against three criteria: relative total shareholder return, weighted at 50 per cent; average return on capital employed (ROCE), at 40 per cent; and a 10 per cent weighting for reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions intensity.

Subject to meeting these targets, rewards will be delivered by the end of April 2029.

The maximum number of shares that may be distributed under PSP 2026–2028 is 1,258,000, representing the gross value of the rewards before applicable taxes are deducted.

Approximately 100 participants are included in the first plan period, including the president and chief executive and members of the group management team.

Under the plan’s terms, participants who leave the company before rewards are paid will generally forfeit their entitlement.

The president and chief executive, together with other senior executives, must retain 25 per cent of the shares received until their personal shareholding equals their gross annual salary from the preceding year.

The board said no new shares are expected to be issued under the plan, meaning it is not anticipated to dilute the company’s existing share base.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) has launched a three-year collaboration with the Berlin-based social enterprise Elucid to provide healthcare access for 1,800 rubber farming households in Côte d’Ivoire. The initiative, funded through GPSNR’s Shared Investment Mechanism, will benefit approximately 9,000 individuals. Financial backing comes from 13 major tyre and rubber manufacturers, including Aeolus Tyre, Apollo Tyres, BKT, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho Tire, Maxxis International, Nokian Tyres, Prometeon Tyre Group, Sumitomo Riko, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Toyo Tire and Yokohama Rubber. The programme directly confronts a long‑ignored reality within the natural rubber sector: the link between farmer health and supply chain stability.

Côte d’Ivoire ranks 187th out of 195 nations for quality of care, with only 32 percent of essential medicines available publicly. Although two‑thirds of the population are enrolled in national health insurance on paper, fewer than four percent used their card in 2025. Medical emergencies cost the country an estimated 853 million US dollars in cocoa exports in 2017 alone, and with many farmers growing both cocoa and rubber, the implications for the rubber sector are substantial.

The partnership integrates four measures: enrolling families into national insurance, providing an emergency care package covering WHO‑accredited medications, upgrading 15 local health facilities and running community awareness programmes. Elucid’s digital platform will track data in real time. The project aims to increase healthcare visits from under 200 to over 1,800, push insurance enrolment from below 30 percent to above 90 percent and prevent more than 150 catastrophic health expenditure events annually. Half of beneficiaries will be women, and 20 percent children.

Photo credit: Elucid

Farmer enrolment begins in August 2026, with improvements continuing until January 2029. Without reliable healthcare, medical emergencies force farmers to sell assets and abandon farm improvements, creating direct risks for supply chains. The programme seeks to reverse that dynamic, targeting long‑term sustainability by building cooperative capacity to maintain health support for members.

Stefano Savi, CEO, GPSNR, said, “We talk constantly about improving yields and farm management practices, but we’ve missed something fundamental. A farmer who can’t afford to see a doctor when they’re sick or who cannot go to the farm because their child is unwell can’t be productive. Healthcare isn’t separate from supply chain resilience. It’s central to it.”

Sambhavna Biswas, Partnerships Manager, Elucid, said, “This is about demonstrating what’s possible when the private sector invests in making national health systems work for farmers. This model can be replicated across rubber-growing regions and adapted to other agricultural sectors. Everyone in the value chain benefits when the people at its foundation are healthy and economically secure.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!