Tyre manufacturer CEAT leads in motorcycle segment
View(s):CEAT Kelani Holdings, which says it produces half of Sri Lanka’s tyre requirements, has reported strong sales of motorcycle tyres since last December enabling the company to end the financial year with a market share of 20 per cent in this segment.
The company has added six new sizes of motorcycle tyres to its portfolio over the past six months and said in a media release that it plans to add another seven before the end of 2014, by which time it will offer 25 of the most popular sizes in the local market.
“We now sell more than 13,500 motorcycle tyres per month, and are looking at investing in expansion of capacity and range to further grow our market share,” the company’s Managing Director N. C. Venugopal said.
In November last year, as part of the renewed focus on the two-wheel segment CEAT Kelani introduced five new tubeless nylon-cased motorcycle tyres with unique new tread compounds and trendy directional patterns. These new tyres are in the sizes of 90/90-17 (6PR), 3.00-17 (6PR), 3.00-18 (6PR), 100/90-18 (6PR) and 3.50-10 (4PR). They fit popular motorcycle models such as TVS Apache RTR, Bajaj Pulsar, Discovery and Platina, TVS Star Sport, Hero Glamour, Honda Unicorn, Hero Karisma, Honda Dio and Hero Pleasure.
This was followed by the launch in March this year of the tube type 2.75-14 (4PR) tyre for the Honda MD90, popularly known in Sri Lanka as the ‘Thapal 90.’ “All of these tyres are specially designed for excellent handling and grip, better cornering stability and durability, and represent the design and production values that have made CEAT the leading tyre brand in Sri Lanka in the radial and commercial vehicle segments,” Mr Venugopal added.