TVS Srichakra has entered the European market with its new range of Eurogrip two-wheeler tyres which are customised to meet the European rider’s needs. The company has been meticulously moving on its brand building and product launches in the last two years. In 2019, the company had launched its brand TVS Eurogrip with a new logo and new product range, aiming at younger, millennial and aspirational buyers.

To foray into the European market, TVS Srichakra once again has gone through a lot of studies and product testing. The newly launched range of Eurogrip Bee Connect scooter tyres will be available in a basket of 40 different sizes in the coming months in Europe. Decoding the significance of the Eurogrip Bee Connect name, Andrea Bianchi Milella, Marketing Manager of TVS Srichakra’s Italian Centre, said, “It took quite a long process to came to this to this name-Eurogrip Bee Connect. The pandemic has changed everyone’s life, so has mobility. Due to social distancing and safety, public transportation is being avoided in Europe and, two-wheelers, especially scooters, are increasingly preferred by people to connect with each other. Secondly, at TVS Srichakra, we are the forefront runner for creating ecological consciousness in the tyre industry. We did tremendous work on reducing the environmental impact and increasing the usage of renewable energies with this product. With the Eurogrip Bee Connect, we wanted to highlight that we are very conscious about sustainable mobility and which animal could be better than the bees to symbolise this fact. Bees are industrious and hardworking and, most of the time, on the move, but at the same time, they play kind of a crucial role in the wellbeing of nature and humanity itself. So, we wanted also to highlight this side of our involvement in the automotive industry.”

 The company has entered the European market when the pandemic has put a halt on everyone’s life for more than a year. However, P Madhavan, Executive Vice President - Sales & Marketing, TVS Srichakra, backs the timing to enter the European market, saying the strategic move has been taken after much deliberation. Madhavan says, “I will strongly believe in stop, pause and take a breath, and then look at the very reason where you can go from that point onwards. So we use this period to go back and understand the consumer better. We got into the research more and tried to get fresh insights on the consumer so that if there is that nugget of gold as an opportunity available, go pick that up. That was the thought right through.” 

 The Chennai-headquartered company utilised the recent slowdown period for designing, studying the market trends and the riders’ needs in greater details. The new product development went through multiple rounds of prototyping and subsequent tests in its laboratories and racetracks and roads by some independent testers in Europe. 

 Today, the homegrown company is a leading tyre company in the two-wheelers and three-wheeler and OHT tyre space, operating for more than three decades. The company rolls out around three million tyres every month out of its two manufacturing facilities located in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and Rudrapur (Uttarakhand). 

Eurogrip Bee Connect for riding experience 

In India, two-wheelers are essentially a mode of commuting, whereas as the consumers in Europe, though in smaller numbers, is more discerning and evolved. 

According to Milella, European two-wheeler riders seek a wholesome experience and are choosy on bikes, accessories, and tyres. “European two-wheeler riders want to enjoy the riding experience, which could be any forms - long rides on highways, country roads, sporty rides, off roads or racetracks. The consumer segment in the region we are dealing with is updated and aware of the types of tyres they require for their needs. So, you need to have quite a lot of offers all across the spectrum to cater to each type of riders. I will say it’s quite interesting,” said Milella.

 Currently, the company is working on new products, which will be released in the first quarter of 2022. A knobby product for off-road purposes and a street tyre for medium and big displacement motorcycles, both in Radial and Cross Ply construction, are lined up for launch in the next few months.

TVS Srichakra has installed an entirely new line at its Madurai plant to manufacture the newly launched range. Elaborating further, V Sivaramakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer (R&D Head), said, “Tyres made for the European market require completely different compounds and materials and need to meet the REACH compliance. So, we have a completely new manufacturing plant dedicated for the European product line in Madurai, India, which includes completely new extruders, tyre building machines, and process.”

 At the start, TVS Srichakra is not looking for sales targets in the European market. The priority for the company is to establish the brand, which another mammoth task for any tyre company. TVS Srichakra has already been in Europe with its Eurogrip brand in the Agri tyre space for five years. “We are designing and developing our products as per the market needs and building our brand. We prefer to have more organic growth,” says Madhavan. 

 The company also plans to introduce some of Eurogrip Bee Connect products in India and other markets in upcoming quarters.

 Not only building a brand, but establishing the retail chain in Europe is another challenge. The retail tyre business in the region is much more organised in both online and offline segments, which give much more options to consumers. In Europe, the retail tyre business is being increasingly driven by digital space, and consumers expect solutions from doorstep delivery and fitment to other services instead of just a product. As of now, TVS Srichakra has no plans to acquire any retail chain or distributors in the replacement market in the region. Currently, the company is working with the leading distributors across all European countries- Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. “With our partners, we will be present at the vast majority of retailer across countries to support our customers,” said Milella. 

 TVS Srichakra’s Italian R&D centre will play a vital role in establishing the company’s base in Europe. It focuses on cutting edge technology development and bringing the knowledge and consumers specific inputs in the region. The Italian centre also brings in testing capabilities, which are available globally. The Indian R&D Centre is oriented towards designing detailing, product industrialisation, working from the arts to parts, compound and material testing. “We look into more synergy in terms of technologies getting developed at our India and Europe R&D centres,” said Sivaramakrishnan.

 The company already has a material science lab in India and mentors from Japan and Italy for the material and compound development process.

 Last fifteen months of the pandemic, TVS Srichakra designed and developed new products for the local market. It launched 11 new products for the replacement market, including eight new high-performance tyre sizes for motorcycles, two for scooters and one new tyre size for electric rickshaws. The tyre sizes were introduced under the Sportorq, Jumbo GT, Conta, Durapro and e-Durapro product series.

 In December 2020, the company also announced its planned capital expenditure of INR 10 billion to ramp up manufacturing in its Madurai and Pantnagar plants. This investment is planned to be made over three years. The investment, when fully made, will result in an increase in two and three-wheeler tyre capacity by 25-30 percent and a doubling of off-highway tyre capacity from current levels. 

 The company also worked on digitalisation heavily as it had anticipated that contactless working would be the order of the day. The digitalisation programme helped TVS Srichakra reach the retailers without having the salesman in the field. “Consumers who realised that the shared mobility was out and they pulled out the two-wheelers for service and changed the tyres and battery. So we saw a huge uptick in numbers thanks to the effort that we put in,” said Madhavan.

 Madhavan anticipates that if the COVID situation gets better and the economy comes back on track, the boost the usage of two-wheelers. “That will augur well for us, and we run into the festival season. So, this is to say, we are not fortune tellers there, but the only thing is if the entire thing gets over the next two, three weeks, and the consumers are allowed to move around that that I believe will be a stepping stone to getting a good festive season.” (TT)

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Continental marked a major milestone on 22 May 2026 during opening ceremonies for the second expansion phase of its Rayong plant in Thailand. The development includes growth for the Passenger and Light Truck Tires division and the start of radial production for motorcycle tyres.

The Rayong motorcycle tyre facility operates with fully in-house manufacturing, from rubber compounds to finished products, using modern equipment. All processes adhere to Continental’s global quality and control standards, enabling production of both radial and diagonal tyres with capacity for future expansion. A high degree of automation and automatic monitoring systems eliminate manual errors while maintaining strict quality checks at every step.

Continental’s Rayong production serves diverse riding styles, including sport-touring and adventure touring segments, with popular radial and diagonal tyre models already in production. In March 2026, the plant received IATF certification, meeting international automotive standards that guarantee continuous quality processes and supply reliability for original-equipment customers.

The expansion also reflects Continental’s sustainability commitment, with solar energy supplying about 13 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. Additionally, the project has created new jobs, strengthening the regional economy.

Christoph Ettenhuber, Head of Business Field Motorcycle Tires, Continental, said, “By expanding our facility in Thailand, we are strategically strengthening our global production structure for Continental Motorcycle Tires. Together with our established operations in our Korbach plant in Germany, we are laying the groundwork for a faster, more flexible response to market demands. Rayong is a key component of our international motorcycle tyre strategy and underscores our clear commitment to growth and state-of-the-art production processes. For our customers, this means premium quality made by Continental – no matter which continent they’re on or which roads they travel."

Sahil Agrawal, Head of Manufacturing Operations in Rayong, said, “Quality is our top priority – for our original equipment customers as well as for end consumers. Our system captures every detail: all tyres are fully traceable at every production step. Online monitoring systems such as automatic scales, profilometers and camera systems ensure that every component is within specification limits. Automation – from the green tyre spray system to automatic tool management – enables us to achieve maximum quality levels while creating an ergonomic and safe working environment.”

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Bridgestone Corporation has once again been selected as a constituent of several globally recognised environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes, including the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index, the FTSE4Good Index Series, the MSCI Selection Indexes, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Equity ESG Select Leaders Index.

The Japanese tyre giant’s continued inclusion in these rankings serves as a concrete and objective embodiment of its corporate mission to serve society with superior quality. Company leadership views the ability to sustain such ESG initiatives over many years as a distinct organisational strength.

Regarding the Dow Jones indexes, Bridgestone has been selected for the Best-in-Class World Index for four consecutive years since 2022, which recognises the top 10 percent of sustainability leaders among 2,500 major global companies. The firm has also maintained a place in the Best-in-Class Asia Pacific Index for 16 straight years since 2010.

In the FTSE Russell assessments, Bridgestone has achieved eight consecutive years of selection for the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2018, alongside the same duration for the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index. The company has also been included in the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index for five consecutive years since 2021. For MSCI, Bridgestone has secured three straight years of selection for the MSCI Selection Indexes since 2023 while receiving the highest AAA rating in the MSCI ESG Ratings for three consecutive years.

The company has additionally earned high marks from the international non-profit CDP, receiving an A minus rating in both Climate Change and Water Security for 2025, marking six consecutive years at the leadership level. Bridgestone also obtained an A rating in the Supplier Engagement Rating for the seventh time. Key initiatives behind these recognitions include the expansion of its sustainability business model towards carbon neutrality and a circular economy, actions supporting nature positive goals such as sustainable natural rubber and water resource management, a comprehensive due diligence system based on Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles for human rights and environmental risk and global policy execution guidelines.

Bridgestone places sustainability at the core of its management, aiming to implement and evolve its unique business model across the entire value chain from production and use to renewal and raw materials. These efforts link business operations directly to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and a nature positive world.

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Tegeta Green Planet and Shine Energy, both affiliated with Tegeta Holding, have launched a joint educational initiative to raise environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility among young people. The project addresses modern challenges such as environmental protection and sustainable development.

Company representatives are visiting schools across Tbilisi to hold informational meetings, presentations and workshops. The programme begins with presentations, followed by interactive games and activities designed to help students retain the information. At the end of each session, participants receive symbolic gifts and prizes as motivation.

Tegeta Green Planet focuses on teaching students the principles of specific waste management, including how to properly handle used tyres, batteries and oils. The sessions explain why proper waste management is essential for environmental protection and how it connects to the circular economy. Meanwhile, Shine Energy educates young people on the importance of energy, its everyday use and why developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is crucial.

The initiative is not limited to schools. In the near future, both organisations will expand their efforts to universities, aiming to broaden awareness about environmental protection, waste management and energy efficiency. The ultimate goal is to foster environmentally responsible attitudes among the younger generation, helping build a more sustainable and conscious society.

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Zeon has been recognised as a Supplier Engagement Leader in the 2025 Supplier Engagement Assessment (SEA) conducted by CDP, a United Kingdom-based international environmental nonprofit organisation. This achievement represents the first time the company has received the highest possible rating in this assessment.

The evaluation measures how corporations address climate change within their supply chains, focusing on responses to the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire across five critical areas. These include governance, emissions targets, Scope 3 emissions management, risk management and overall supplier engagement strategies.

Zeon earned the top rating for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through supplier collaboration, a group-wide initiative, alongside continuous dialogue maintained via procurement activities. Guided by its philosophy of contributing to planetary preservation and human prosperity, Zeon remains committed to sustainable management. The company reaffirmed that it will continue working with suppliers and other stakeholders to tackle climate change and meet societal expectations.

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