The bicycle industry has seen an exponential demand, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. With an increase in commodity prices and new players entering the industry, every manufacturer has to be as efficient as possible to make its bicycle stand out in the market. We talk to Scott Sports India on making its place in the Indian market, the impact of the pandemic and investing in its customers. 

The increase in the purchasing power of consumers in developing nations like India, Mexico and Malaysia is anticipated to be the utmost driver for the bicycle market in the years to come. Also, according to a recent study, the global bicycles market is expected to reach USD 78 billion by 2026, especially with so many bicycle players making their way into the market.

One such company is Scott Sports, a Swiss producer of bicycles, winter equipment, motorsports gear and sportswear, which has also made its place in India. Working towards the development, manufacturing, sales and marketing of high-end performance products intended for biking, the company’s agenda is to get more and more people out on bicycles, cycling outdoors. When the company started off in India, a large part of its customers was, in fact, people from the IT sector. These people had travelled across the world on projects, realising that there is a lifestyle that one can have and that there are bikes that one can buy which actually cater to this lifestyle, giving one a better riding experience. However, as time has gone by, the company has had customers right from a 12- or 13-year-old kid to an 85-year-old gentleman, ever since it started its journey in India in 2012. It currently has about 110 outlets and with the Avanti Giro FM1 brand coming in, it is planning to add another 150 outlets in the next 12 months. 

Bikes suitable for anyone and everyone

Scott Sports introduced Avanti Giro FM1 from New Zealand recently in India, making it suitable for southern hemisphere countries. “In the southern hemisphere, largely, there exists a lot of commute and price-sensitive customers, from India to South Africa to Brazil to Australia etc.,” says Jaymin Shah, Managing Director, Scott Sports India, and continues, “That entire belt of countries consists of sports, but at the same time, is very sensitive to price. Therefore, at the end of the day, they want products that are designed for a particular reason, that can do the work and don’t burn a big hole in their pockets. This is why we launched the Avanti brand, which also lets us reach out to a bigger target audience that is India.”

But introducing a bike for the southern hemisphere is not the company’s only unique element. Scott Sports, till it entered the business, realised that bicycles are available in a one-size-fits-all kind of a category. What Scott Sports did was get the same bicycle in different frame sizes. “Just the way you can buy a shirt in a small, medium, large or XL size, the same can be done with bicycles,” Shah reveals and adds, “This is a change that the Indian customer did not know about (about a decade back).”

Another element that Scott Sports focuses on is called ‘bike fit’. Shah explains, “Bike fit is a concept where one can customise the dimensions on one’s bike. The frame size remains the same, but it has a different leg length, torso length and so on.”

Shah further informs, “We have a system and a software, along with a German partner, where the system scans your body and makes recommendations as per the model you want to select.”

A broken helmet is a good helmet

Customisation or no customisation, one factor that people surely look for in any vehicle, including bicycles, is safety. Catering to this need, we see many bicycle brands offering helmets or other safety features. Scott Sports’ bikes come equipped with reflectors, which are mandatory. “Along with this, we sell a lot of products as accessories, like helmets, reflector vests or even reflector stickers,” Shah asserts. Pointing out a very interesting aspect about helmets, he further tells us, “While the core idea of a helmet is to protect the bicycle rider, many people think that the helmet should not break when they crash. However, the fact is that if the helmet does not crack after a severe crash, then the helmet in question is of a sub-standard variety. A good helmet will crack. This is because the crack is what dissipates the fall and distributes the impact.”

Increase in commodity prices

Scott Sports is currently catering to three segments – lifestyle, commute and sports. Shah believes that the sports and lifestyle segments will see growth. “On the commute side, we have suddenly seen a drop in bicycles, only because cars are back on the streets,” he tells us.

As these segments see growth, prices too will be a factor of consideration. All of Scott Sports’ bicycles are made of alloy and carbon. However, general commodity prices, which include aluminium alloy etc., have seen an increase in price. From Scott’s perspective, the demand has not been impacted for one reason alone – the consumer/target audience not looking for the mass market. “They are looking for premium products,” Shah says and continues, “Only time will tell if this is sustainable or not, because a point may come where the consumer will say that he/she is not willing to pay beyond that price. Plus, global shipping rates have gone through the roof, i.e. by five times, which is huge. Scott has also increased the prices of its products in India from 1st April this year.” 

Shah goes on to mention that the government is doing all it can to cool off commodity prices. “However, I don’t think it all can be controlled by just one government measure. That’s because there are a lot of factors which are beyond our control, from the Russia-Ukraine war to the Covid situation. And this applies not just to India but the world,” he cites. 

One material is as durable as the other

On the material front, he clarifies that whether a bicycle is made of steel, alloy or carbon, the product is a durable one. What’s important is that it has to be maintained well. “The biggest difference between an alloy and a steel bike or an alloy and a carbon bike is the weight of the bicycle. Steel bicycles typically tend to be heavier than alloy bicycles and carbon bicycles tend to be lighter than alloy bicycles. One is as durable as the other,” he explains. 

Educating the customer and mechanics

With the customers’ demand and needs changing rapidly, educating them and making them aware becomes highly crucial. Scott Sports has some singular initiatives in this domain. For one, it has a customer helpline number that is not a sales helpline but simply a customer education helpline. “One can call the helpline and talk to our product specialists who will guide the customer through various factors,” Shah avers. 

Another initiative it has is ‘breakfast rides’ (conducted mainly pre-covid). “We used to conduct breakfast rides with small communities across the country, where our product specialists would address one topic,” Shah puts across and adds, “The topic could be with respect to customer education, bike maintenance, bike fit and would vary in every ride. Also, with everything sort of opening up post-covid, we will be restarting these breakfast rides.”

Scott Sports invests not just in its customers but in its mechanics as well. It runs ‘technical services’ meant for trade only and for all the mechanics. “Here, either our team would go out to a regional centre and call in the mechanics nearby or the mechanics would come to Mumbai,” Shah informs and adds, “This is something we used to do on a regular basis to sensitise the mechanics.”

Covid’s impact on business

Post the lockdown, Scott Sports has grown by 100 percent. “In that sense, it was a great year from a business perspective. However, we also realise that there is a lot of demand out there,” Shah shares. 

While it was a smooth-running chain pre-covid, each country had to be subject to its own lockdowns post-covid, as per their respective government’s measures. “So now, all our bikes come from Cambodia, but a lot of components come from Vietnam or Malaysia or Indonesia. It’s not just about putting a bicycle together – it’s about getting all the moving parts, from the tyres to tubes to suspensions, together. So, from that perspective, tying everything together from different parts of the world became a challenge for us,” Shah enlightens.

Challenges for the industry

With these challenges, we can’t remove the competition out of the equation, especially with new companies entering the market. Nonetheless, Shah claims that at the price-point and quality level where Scott Sports is, it is equivalent to a BMW or a Mercedes or an Audi today. “You can buy a product which is priced at INR 40,000 but also buy a Scott bike which is priced at INR 1 million,” he says and goes on, “The mass brands, we hear, are in over-stocked situations, which is also contributed by so many players entering the market. However, when one looks at the premium market – that we are targeting and have been historically present in – no overnight player can really come in and challenge us over there.”

However, there are other challenges to face. The Indian government’s restriction on import of tyres and tubes has impacted the bicycle owners the most, Shah believes. He asserts that there are local manufacturers for automobile tyres. However, on the bicycle front, with the level of quality required for international brands, the importers requiring such tyres are facing the biggest challenge. 

The next step

Scott Sports sold over 12,000 units during the financial year 2021-2022. Speaking of the company’s targets for the current fiscal, Shah tells us, “Our target is not more than 15,000 next year. This is essentially not a reflection of the demand but a reflection of how many bikes we can get into the country.”

Catering to every personalised requirement

The bicycle industry certainly is seeing tremendous demand and is evolving every day, especially where every consumer gets to choose a bike that suits him/her the best. This, of course, comes with its share of challenges for the industry and customers both. For a market like India, where customers can be price-sensitive and some also willing to invest in bicycles, making them aware goes a long way, catering to their every personalised requirement that they look for when purchasing a bicycle.

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Goodyear India Limited reported higher quarterly profit despite recognising INR 1.94 million of past service costs under India’s new labour codes, as revenue declined year on year.

Revenue from operations for the quarter ended 31 December 2025 fell to INR 606.9 million, from INR 631.7 million a year earlier. Total income was INR 611.5 million, compared with INR 636.4 million.

Profit before tax rose to INR 33.4 million, up from INR 13.3 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Net profit increased to INR 24.6m, compared with INR 9.5 million. Earnings per share were INR 10.68, against INR 4.11 a year earlier.

Total expenses declined to INR 578.2 million from INR 623.2 million. Cost of materials consumed fell to INR 221.5 million from INR 257.9 million, while purchases of stock-in-trade were INR 190.3 million, broadly in line with INR 191.1 million a year earlier. Employee benefits expense rose to INR 52.2 million from INR 44.4 million.

For the nine months to December 31 2025, revenue from operations decreased to INR 1,859.6 million from INR 2,005.4 million in the same period last year. Profit before tax rose marginally to INR 69.8 million from INR 67.9 million. Net profit was INR 51.8m, compared with INR 50.3m.

The company said it had recognised past service costs of INR 1.94 million under employee benefits expense in the quarter and nine months ended December 31 2025, following notification of the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

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Balkrishna Industries (BKT) reported a six percent rise in quarterly volumes and commissioned additional carbon black capacity, even as US tariffs and volatile commodity prices weighed on parts of its export business.

The company’s sales volumes rose to 80,620 metric tonnes in the quarter to December 2025, up six percent year on year and about 15 percent higher than the previous quarter. For the first nine months, volumes were 231,536 metric tonnes, down onepercent from a year earlier.

Standalone revenue for the quarter was INR 26.82 billion, up 4 per cent year on year, including a realised foreign exchange loss of Rs 470 million relating to sales. For the nine months, revenue was Rs 77.62 billion, broadly flat, including a realised forex loss of Rs 1.17 billion.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were Rs 6.05 billion for the quarter, with a margin of 22.5 percent. For the nine months, EBITDA was INR 17.6 billion, down 11 percent year on year, with a margin of 22.7 percent. Profit after tax for the quarter was INR 3.75 billion, and INR 9.27 billion for the nine-month period.

Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director of BKT, said the “geopolitical and macroeconomic environment continues to remain challenged and the situation with U.S. tariffs remain unchanged”.

In the US, sales momentum improved sequentially after a weak second quarter. Poddar said the group had regained some momentum by sharing the tariff burden with distributors. “Because of our strong brand positioning and quality and some major chunk of the tariffs to be shared between us and our channel partners, we have been able to gain some of the momentum that we had lost in the Q2,” he said.

He declined to quantify the impact of tariffs on margins, but confirmed that costs were being shared. Channel inventory in the US and Europe was “at par at where it should be”.

India remained the strongest market, supported by lower goods and services tax rates and favourable monsoon conditions. The domestic portfolio is split roughly 60 percent industrial and construction tyres and 40 percent agricultural tyres. Higher India contribution has a “slightly lower” average selling price, Poddar said, but margins have remained broadly stable.

In Europe, demand improved sequentially as earlier destocking eased. The European Union Deforestation Regulation, originally due to take effect from January 2026, has been deferred by one year. Madhusudan Bajaj, Senior President and Chief Financial Officer, said the current import duty into Europe is four percent, though the impact of the proposed free trade agreement with the EU is not yet clear.

Freight costs were about 5 percent of revenue in the quarter and are expected to remain in that range.

On raw materials, Bajaj said oil and natural rubber prices were moving higher, but it was “too early to say what will be the impact”. The average euro rate in the quarter was about INR 97.

Capital expenditure remains elevated. The company has spent about INR 22 billion in the first nine months of the financial year and expects total spending of roughly INR 25–26 billion in FY2026, with the balance of committed projects to be completed in the following year.

During the quarter, BKT commissioned a new carbon black line, taking total capacity to 265,000 metric tonnes per annum. The incremental capacity is intended for external sales rather than captive consumption. Carbon black accounted for less than 10 percent of revenue in the quarter, with margins expected to align with industry averages.

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ZAFCO, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of automotive tyres, batteries and lubricants, has strengthened its corporate governance with the addition of Hee Se Ahn to its Board as an Independent Director, effective 1 January 2026. Bringing over three decades of specialised industry experience, Ahn is recognised for his extensive leadership in the global tyre sector.

His professional background is deeply rooted in international commerce, with significant achievements in overseas sales, strategic marketing and high-level management across key markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Prior to this appointment, his career included senior roles such as Executive Vice President at Nexen Tire and Managing Director at Hankook Tire, based in Seoul. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in fostering international expansion and enhancing market positions while leading diverse, cross-regional teams, solidifying his status as a respected figure in the industry.

Zafar Hussain, Executive Director, ZAFCO Group, said, “We are pleased to welcome Hee Se Ahn to the Board of ZAFCO. His extensive international experience in sales, marketing and regional leadership will bring valuable perspectives to the company. His deep understanding of the global tyre industry will be a strong asset to both the Board and the management team.”

Amir Abbas, Executive Director, ZAFCO Group, said, “We are delighted to welcome Hee Se Ahn to the ZAFCO Board. He brings with him a global business mindset and rich insights into leadership and international business transformation. We look forward to his contributions as we continue to strengthen our global presence.”

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Nokian Tyres has approved an updated strategy and financial targets through to the end of 2029, setting a net sales objective of €1.8 billion–€2 billion and outlining measures to strengthen profitability and reduce leverage.

The Finnish tyre maker said it would prioritise sustainable, value-driven growth following what it described as the most significant transformation in its history.

“Over the past years, Nokian Tyres has navigated the most significant transformations in its history. This period has been a complete strategic reset as we rebuilt the new Nokian Tyres platform. As we now enter the next phase of our development, we will refocus on sustainable, value-driven growth. This positions us to take better control of the unpredictable also in the future and will reduce our exposure to geopolitical risks,” said President And Chief Executive Paolo Pompei.

Under the revised targets, the company aims for segments EBITDA of more than 24 percent and segments operating profit above 15 percent. It also intends to keep net debt to segments EBITDA below 2.

Nokian Tyres will continue to use segments EBITDA as its primary profitability metric and has defined a range for net sales rather than a single figure.

The group reiterated its dividend policy, targeting distribution of at least 50 percent of net earnings.

Strategically, Nokian Tyres said it would focus on its core segments. In passenger car tyres, it aims to maintain a market-leading position in winter tyres and deliver above-market growth in the all-season and all-weather categories. In heavy tyres, it is targeting above-market growth in agricultural and forestry tyres.

Vianor will continue to serve as a European sales and service channel for both passenger car and heavy tyres.

The company said market trends including electrification, a growing car parc, increasing rim sizes and rising demand for winter tyres support development in its chosen segments.

“Our updated financial targets set a clear direction for the future and reflect our ambition to create sustainable value for our shareholders. Profitability improvement will be driven both by volume growth and by more than EUR 100 million coming from targeted performance initiatives. While maintaining strong performance in the Nordics, we aim to accelerate growth in North America and Central Europe. We will prioritize value creation through premium positioning, improved product mix and disciplined cost and operational efficiency,” Pompei said.

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