Tyre market grows on rising demand
The automotive tyre market is flourishing in Bangladesh thanks to increasing sales of commercial and passenger vehicles fuelled by expanding economic activities and affluent consumers.
The market size of automotive tyres reached Tk 4,750 crore last year, up from about Tk 4,000 crore in 2017 and Tk 3,000 crore in 2015, according to market players.
The commercial vehicle tyre segment dominates the industry with the market size standing at Tk 3,750 crore. At least 1.5 lakh pieces of tyres in the segment were sold in 2018.
Besides, 1 lakh pieces of tyres used in private cars were sold last year amounting to Tk 1,000 crore, said Mohammed Shahidul Islam, chairman of HNS, an importer of Korean Hankook tyre brand.
“The tyre market has been growing very fast for the last 10 years riding on the back of an increasing number of commercial vehicles and diversifying economic activities,” said Nazrul Islam, general manager of Veloxo Trading Ltd, the sole importer of Indian tyre MRF.
In the commercial vehicle tyre segment, the MRF's market share is 30 percent. Apollo controls 5 percent of the segment, Birla 10 percent, CEAT 3 percent, and Hankook 1 percent. The rest 51 percent is controlled by non-branded Chinese tyres.
In the private car tyre segment, the combined share of Japanese brands Yokohama, Bridgestone and Toyo and US brand Dunlop stands at about 70 percent. Thai brand Maxxis owns 20 percent share, Korean brand Hankook 2 percent, and non-branded Chinese tyres the rest 8 percent.
Shahidul Islam said private car users preferred premium quality tyres for reliability and the value for money. Mojibur Rahman Sheikh, manager of The Tyre & Battery Bazar, a retailer in the city's Karwan Bazar, says Japanese tyre brands are popular among consumers. There is also good demand for Thai and Korean tyres.
There are two types of tyres in terms of manufacturing: bias and radial. And 90 percent owners of commercial vehicles use bias tyres to minimise cost.
However, radial tyre is getting popular thanks to its longevity compared to bias tyres, said Amzad Khan Raju, managing director of Shawan International, an importer of Maxxis tyre.
“The future of the tyre market is bright as the number of cars is increasing at least by 10 percent a year,” he said.
