Rolling with the punches: Slowdown in auto sales drags tyre industry

Slowing auto sales have failed to dampen investments by tyre manufacturers as they remain optimistic about the future growth of the industry

Growth in the tyre industry has been slowing, especially from the second half of 2018-19, on account of a liquidity crunch, lower infrastructure spending because of elections and the general slowdown in auto sales. Full-year growth production came in at just 7-8 per cent against 6-7 per cent in 2017-18. The second half of 2018-19 has been particularly poor (see table).

This slowdown is hardly surprising in an uninspiring year for the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which account for 22-52 per cent of production of the tyre industry, depending on the segment. Passenger car sales grew marginally by 2.7 per