BKT makes consumer tyre push, targets a million 2-wheeler tyres a month by 2030

Balkrishna Industries is taking on established players with its maiden foray into the consumer tyre market targeting a million two-wheeler tyres a month by 2030 riding on its manufacturing muscle and brand equity.

The move into the consumer segment marks a departure for a company that built its business almost entirely in off-highway speciality tyres. Eighty percent of its revenues come from exports.

Rajiv Poddar, joint MD, cited India's infrastructure build out and rising vehicle demand as the primary drivers behind the entry into the consumer segment. "We didn't want to miss the Indian part of the journey," he told ET.


BKT will produce the tyres at the company's plant in Kutch, Gujarat, with an initial capacity set at 3200 truck-bus tyres per day. For two-wheelers, the company is targeting 100,000 units per month within four to five months of the launch, scaling it to one million a month by 2030.

The consumer tyre investment is part of a broader ₹3,500 crore capital plan that also covers carbon black and power infrastructure. BKT has not disclosed a standalone figure for the consumer segment.

Skipping the conventional manufacturer-to-dealer route, BKT is going to market through distributors, said Satish Sharma, director, business development and strategy. The company has identified distributors from the auto ecosystem with existing fleet relationships and annual turnovers between ₹500 crore and ₹2,500 crore. "We go via the distributors, harness their entrepreneurial energy and their systems and processes," he said.

For commercial vehicles, 43 distributors have been finalised, with similar structures planned for the passenger car and two-wheeler segments. The initial focus is the replacement market, with OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supply planned for a later phase, Sharma said.

Poddar acknowledged some dilution of margins when entering a more competitive, lower-margin segment, but said the consumer business would remain a small enough share of overall revenues to limit the blended impact.

BKT currently reports upward of 20% margins in its speciality segment. For the standalone entity, the company reported a net profit of Rs 375 crore in the December quarter, down 15% YoY on revenues of Rs 2730 crore, up 4%.