Apollo Takes to Online Route for Launch of Truck and Bus Radial Tires in Europe

Apollo Tyres used the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham to debut its extremely competitive Truck and Bus Radial (TBR) tire segment in Europe. The company has innovatively chosen to take to the online route to launch its range of TBR tires.

The company has already garnered a significant market share in the passenger car tire segment in Europe, and is now seeking to extend its leadership in the TBR segment in India to the European market. Apollo has six manufacturing facilities spread across the world including its new greenfield factory in Hungary, as well as four R&D facilities.

Commenting on the debut of the new range, Apollo Tyres’ Chief Retail & Marketing Officer, Marco Paracciani said that quality, reliability and performance are the cornerstones of the company’s philosophy. He said that the company felt that a new approach was needed in the European TBR market in addition to a strong product offering and this is why it opted for online sales.

Apollo’s TBR tires are exclusively available through an online platform – ApolloTyresDirect.com which is notable for a completely transparent pricing structure. Due to the e-commerce route that Apollo has adopted, customers will need to pay only for what they need as there will be no ancillary expenses.

Paracciani explained, “Thanks to our cutting-edge business model, we can offer performance tires at cost-effective prices. Indeed, our value proposition is nicely summed up by ‘Performance Tyres. Your Price. Your Way’.”

Benoit Rivallant, Group Head of Global Product Management for Commercial Vehicles, Apollo Tyres said that the launch was the culmination of the company’s five-year testing and development program for the Apollo brand of truck-bus radials in the UK and Europe. He said that Apollo had developed and tested the new range exclusively for the European market with tests being performed over 250 million kilometers across six European countries, in a wide range of applications, by 50 fleets and driver partners.

Rivallant added that the success of the project depended on streamlining of the entire process and the company’s focus was on providing premium tires to customers when they needed the tires through the channel they preferred, whether it was online or through new service opportunities for dealers. He emphasized that though tires are sold online, Apollo’s Customer Service teams are always available to help customers
Apollo’s unusual strategy cuts out intermediaries and makes the selling process transparent and lean, with the savings being passed on to customers. Customers thus get the best deal possible.
Based on the delivery slot, order volume and the payment method, customers get a personalized price at ApolloTyresDirect.com.  Cost per tire is affected by factors like size of the order, advanced planning for orders or delivery, payment in advance or on credit, and even collection from the warehouse in Hamburg.  And since they are buying directly from the manufacturer, customers can be sure their order will be fulfilled.

Apollo Tyres will first be making the TBR tires available in UK, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, and this will soon be followed by the launch of the range in Germany and other European markets. Even customers that are located in countries currently outside the scope of delivery, can benefit from the cost advantage by arranging collection from Apollo’s Hamburg warehouse.