JK Tyre is preparing for the future mobility demand, banking on its R&D and testing capabilities. The pioneer of radial tyre technology to green tyres in India, JK Tyre is in the process of launching new technologies from puncture-proof tyres to UUHP ( Ultra Ultra High Performance) and electric vehicles tyres for passenger cars and connected mobility solutions.

“If you look at the evolution of tyre technologies in India, today radialisation in the passenger car tyre segment has reached over 90 percent, while it is in the 50–55 percent range in the commercial tyres segment. In the next three to five years, the radialisation of commercial tyres will reach 65 to 70 percent. We will also see a fast transition from tube tyres to tubeless tyres in the country soon. New technologies such as smart tyres and puncture-proof tyres will pick up gradually segment-wise in India, catering to niche demand initially. As and when OEMs require these new technologies, our products will be readily available,” said Dr Rabindra Mukhopadhyay, director, R&D, JK Tyre & Industries,.

JK Tyre acquired Pune-based Treel Mobility. Today, JK Tyre is India’s only tyre company that indigenously manufactures Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) based on TREEL sensor technology for OE and OE replacement markets. Its smart tyres provide live data on tyre temperature, tyre pressure, tyre positions, locations, distance travelled and expected tyre life through its algorithm, thus capturing the full health of the tyres.

The company is pushing its smart tyre solutions in the replacement market, especially for fleet companies. “It’s all about the value for money. If the customers think this product is value for money, they will pay for it,” said Dr Mukhopadhyay. The company’s smart tyres are available in PCR, 2-wheeler, LCV and truck categories.

The company is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of automotive tyres, tubes and flaps. Today, the company has 12 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities – three plants in Mysuru; three plants in Haridwar; one plant each in Banmore (MP), Kankroli (Rajasthan) and Chennai, and three plants in Mexico. These plants manufacture around 32 million tyres per annum.

JK Tyre’s products comprise truck & bus radial and bias, passenger car radials, two- and three-wheeler tyres, LCV & SCV bias and radial, off-highway tyres (OTR and Farm), as well as speciality tyres for military and defence, industrial and farm applications besides racing tyres.

Products in Pipeline

The company will soon introduce new products catering to the demand of new requirements, and one of them is a puncture-proof tyre for cars. The puncture-proof tyre has an inner coat of a special rubber compound developed by the company that seals and heals the tyre immediately. As per the company, its puncture-proof tyre can sustain up to 300 punctures. It also enhances durability and does not allow fuel efficiency to drop.

Bias tyres will also remain the focus of JK Tyre to maintain its leading position in the commercial tyres segment. According to Dr Mukhopadhyay, though India is aggressively moving towards the radialisation of commercial tyres, bias tyres will remain in demand for the next 15-20 years owing to the road conditions and the benefits it provides. “For short-haul and within-the-city transportation, bias tyres are still preferred. Globally, bias tyres still own around 10 percent market, and India is one of the leading exporters of bias tyres,” said Dr Mukhopadhyay.

Tyres for EVs are expected to have lower rolling resistance, much lower tyre noise and high torque resistance with durability. JK Tyre has also developed new pattern series for electric scooters. For the scooter tyres, the company has a compound which has a 12 percent reduction in hysterias, leading to higher fuel saving and lower heat-related failures. JK Tyre is currently working with MG Motor to offer EV tyres on the passenger car tyre side. “We also have plans to offer electric passenger and light truck tyres,” added Dr Mukhopadhyay. 

JK Tyre has also developed the second generation of EV tyres for passenger cars, which can up to 13 to 14 k per KVH.

Though niche, the high-performance bikes and car segment is gaining traction in India, and JK Tyre is also eyeing the same segment. For premium, high-end luxury cars, for domestic and export, JK Tyre has developed Levitas Ultra, an ultra-high-performance tyre. The Levitas Ultra offers the best in class ride and handling, braking, comfort and noise level. The company will also bring out ‘H’ rated tyres designed for high-speed motorcycles, which can reach 210 kmph, focusing on a lower aspect ratio. The company has tested and validated the Levitas Ultra tyre for India and Europe. The company claims the Levitas Ultra tyre’s performance is tuned at a level better than the global brands in overall handling, performance, control, wet grip and noise. “We are also working on non-pneumatic tyres, but it will take time to develop,” added Dr Mukhopadhay.

R&D and Testing Capabilities

R&D has always been  an integrated focus of JK Tyres to bring new technologies. A few decades ago, almost all tyre companies in India collaborated with foreign tyre companies to get technologies. To reduce dependency on international companies, JK Tyre established India’s first independent elastomer and tyre research institute, Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer & Tyre Research Institute (HASETRI), in 1991 at Kankroli, Rajasthan. Today, HASETRI is one of the leading research institutes in Asia in rubber and tyre technology. HASETRI works in material characterisation, product characterisation, simulation, environmental analysis, calibration, consultancy and training.

In 2018, JK Tyre inaugurated its Global Technology Centre RPSCoE in Mysuru, bringing together the best in class facilities under one roof. The RPSCoE houses HASETRI and The JK Tyre Tech Centre. The company is ramping up its R&D and testing capabilities to meet future requirements. This year, the company has allocated a budget of INR 1.1 billion to procure equipment for tyre analysis. JK Tyre has already ordered the Flat-Trac CT Plus system, made by MTS, which is engineered to deliver highly accurate and repeatable measurements of tyre force and moment properties under steady-state and dynamic conditions. The machine, which costs over INR 500 million, has capabilities of steady-state force and moment measurement, dynamic force and moment measurement, sinusoidal radial deflection tests, simulation testing and effective rolling radius measurement. Another highlight of the centre is semi-anechoic chamber for noise, harshness and vibration measurement. JK Tyre was also the first tyre company in India to invest in a first-of-its-kind semi-anechoic chamber.

JK Tyre also has a centre of excellence at IIT Madras, a joint venture between the company and IIT Madras. Over the years, the company has developed many predictive technologies and other solutions at the centre. The IIT Madras centre has a virtual proving ground to have the actual performance for the tyres on a vehicle without having real tyres or vehicles. Various data for the vehicles and a tyre is fed into the software, and you can put data of any test track and drive the car with different speeds. The virtual proving ground helps the company generate various data to determine what kind of tyres is best suited for a particular vehicle.

For enhancing its door testing capabilities, JK Tyre is also establishing its wet grip testing capability. The company has bought a skid trailer used for on-road tyre characterisations- force & moment, rolling resistance dry and wet grip. Currently, it is at NATRiP, Indore.

Recently, HASETRI received accreditation from the prestigious National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for outdoor regulatory testing as per ISO/IEC 17025:2017. With this, HASETRI has become the first Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (SIRO) recognised by DSIR, Government of India and an independent tyre testing and research institute in India to receive such accreditation from NABL.

Under the scope for outdoor testing, the accreditation includes testing for wet grip and coast-by noise for C1 (passenger) and C2 (light truck) category tyres as per ECE R117 method. The indoor tyre testing facilities for regulatory requirement like rolling resistance, endurance, dynamic growth etc. have already been accredited by NABL as per ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

JK tyre is exploring many possibilities on the material development front, one of which is mixing solid and liquid materials. “We are exploring possibilities of mixing natural rubber at the level of latex form with other solid materials. With this mixing process, we can save lots of energy consumption,” said Dr Mukhopadhyay. The company is working with different raw materials suppliers, especially synthetic rubber suppliers like SBR, to convert petrol-based materials to non-petrol based materials.

Reuse, retread and recycle are also focus of the company.  Currently, the company is using three percent recycled rubber in its new products. In the future, it targets to have 10 percent recycled rubber in the new products in the next five years. “However, a greater challenge is to have virgin rubber properties in the recycled rubber,” added Dr Mukhopadhyay.

JK Tyre is also targetting to increase its retread tyre volume . As of now, it is retreading 300 tonnes of used tyres per day, aiming to take it to 500 tonnes per day. (TT)

As part of a strategic effort to increase its presence in the region's premium original equipment (OE) market, Kumho Tire has confirmed its plans to establish its first tyre production facility in Europe by 2027.

The company has shortlisted Poland, Serbia and Portugal as possible locations for the plant, which is projected to need an investment of more than KRW1 trillion (USD 705 million). The decision is closely linked to Kumho’s ambition to strengthen its partnerships with European automakers and was revealed by Kumho Tire CEO during the South Korean premiere of Kumho's new Ecsta Sport tyre line.

Kumho has recently secured OE supply contracts with major brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen Group. At the moment, Kumho runs eight tyre production plants in China, Vietnam, South Korea and the US. Its capacity to compete in the premium OE market, however, has come to be perceived as being constrained by the absence of a European production base. Through the benefits of local production, the new facility will improve response to European client requests, save freight costs and shorten delivery times, all of which will strengthen the company's partnerships.

Sentury Tire USA has opened pre-enrolment for its two associate dealer programmes (ADPs), the Delinte HYPERDRIVE Associate Dealer Program and the Landsail Elyte Associate Dealer Program, underscoring the company’s commitment to rewarding dedication and partnership to the Landsail and Delinte brands.

The ADPs, which are customised for each brand and intended to encourage dealers, will formally start on 1 June 2025. Both programmes give dealers access to special benefits, incentives and strong tools to help them expand their businesses. This involves dependable customer service, effective marketing and worthwhile financial incentives to promote dealers' success at every stage.

Beginning in Q3, dealers may earn up to USD three per tyre through the Delinte HYPERDRIVE Associate Dealer Program. Dealers can receive retroactive benefits for purchases completed in Q2 if they register before 1 June. The awards are available for all Delinte PTR, LTR and the new DV3 LMD AS last-mile delivery tyres. For all Landsail PTR and LTR tyres, independent dealers that sign up for the Landsail Elyte Associate Dealer Program can also earn up to USD three per tyre. For customers who sign up by June 1, the new LMD 100 AS last-mile delivery is also eligible for the benefits and will get the same early bird incentive for Q2 2025.

No initial order is necessary. Dealers only need to register to begin making money. According to the monthly programme rewards structure, 48 tyre purchases each month are eligible for a reward of USD one per tyre, 120 tyres are eligible for a reward of USD two per tyre and 240 or more tyres are eligible for a reward of USD three per tyre.

ENSO, a London-based tyre manufacturer engaged in the production of sustainable tyres specially designed for electric vehicles (EVs), has launched its new ENSO Premium range of EV-specific ultra-high-performance (UHP) tyres aimed at drivers of high-performance EVs such as the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Specifically designed for electric passenger vehicles, the ENSO Premium range comes with A/A EU-label ratings for both energy efficiency and wet grip. The tyres are designed to provide safety, increased range and a reduced total cost of ownership. Conventional tyre designs frequently fall short of the special performance needs of electric vehicles, which include greater vehicle weight, regenerative braking and higher torque loads. By lowering tyre wear and rolling resistance, ENSO Premium takes care of these issues.

The company is an authorised provider of replacement tyres for LEVC's electric taxis and has partnered with Uber to install its tyres in high-mileage metropolitan areas. The company now plans to grow throughout Europe and North America, and with ENSO Premium, it is now offering its services to individual EV owners throughout the United Kingdom. According to ENSO, the range offers advantages including longer tyre life and fewer replacements, lower energy usage, fewer charging stops and lower CO₂ emissions and tyre particle pollution.

Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO and Co-Founder, ENSO, said, “We’re plugging a long-standing gap in the tyre market by offering EV drivers a purpose-built, affordable, premium EV tyre alternative that matches the innovation of their EV.”

Kraton Corporation, a leading global sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value bio-based products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, has announced a general price hike in North America for its SBS, SIS and HSBC product lines with effect from 1 May 2025.

Following a careful analysis of the effects of recently implemented tariffs, related cost increases and a conclusion that the company cannot independently absorb these repercussions, Kraton is adopting these pricing hikes, according to a company statement. The company further said that it will keep an eye on the scene and reassess these measures promptly in the event that conditions and US import tariffs alter.