TOKYO—Bridgestone Corp. is planning to upgrade and expand tire factories in Pune and Indore, India, with an $85 million investment over the coming five years.
The investment is being undertaken to reinforce the company's "premium-mass" strategy, Bridgestone said, and will include setting up a satellite technology center at the Pune plant devoted to equipping the factory to produce tires customized optimally for the Indian market with Enliten technology, which is the base technology for product design.
The project is expected to increase production capacity at the Pune plant by approximately 1.1 million tires annually by 2029, to roughly 13 million units a year, along with improving the capability to ensure premium tire production at the Indore plant, Bridgestone said.
This investment is in addition to three-year, $75 million project announced in February 2023 to boost capacity for passenger, light and medium truck tires at the 12-year-old Pune plant by up to 12 percent.
This new satellite technology center will reinforce and accelerate the technology development capability of the company's entire engineering chain from material planning to product research/design and manufacturing for the Indian market.
Bridgestone said it considers the Indian market to be a growth opportunity for the premium passenger tire business. Recent trends in the market have produced an outlook of stable economic development and growth in the number of vehicles both owned and produced.
Bridgestone's business in India is conducted through Bridgestone India Private Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary.
