NEW DELHI: Japanese tire giant Bridgestone is looking to enter the two-wheeler segment in India to become a leading player in the country.

The company today launched a range of fuel-efficient tires for passenger cars under the Ecoopia brand, but is yet to enter the fast-growing two-wheeler tire segment.

Kazuhiko Mimura, Managing Director, Bridgestone India “No news has been confirmed but we are actively looking to enter the two-wheeler tire market in India. We are currently in the initial planning stage.”

The company aims to be the undisputed leader in the Indian market but did not reveal any details of its entry into two-wheelers.

The Ecoopia range was launched with two tire series-EP150 and EP850-, small and medium sized passenger cars such as the Amaze and the demand for sport utility vehicles like the Scorpio and Fortuner. The company said that EP150 tires will offer 7% fuel efficiency for passenger car customers and EP850 series will offer 10% fuel efficiency for SUV customers.

Mimura said, “Ecoopia Bridgestone’s fuel efficiency enables Bridgestone to help Indian drivers save fuel and help reduce CO2 emissions in India.”

Bridgestone announced plans to launch the EP150 series in 17 small and medium passenger car tire sizes and 9 SUV/MUV tire sizes.

“Of these 17 In tire sizes, three tire sizes are planned to be released and the remaining 14 are expected to be released in various sizes next year. Similarly, in SUV//MUV In this segment, a total of 6 out of 9 tire sizes will be launched next year. Rest this month, rest next year,” said Vaibhava Saraf, Bridgestone India PSR.

The company will manufacture the new products at its plants in Kedah, Madhya Pradesh and Chakan, Maharashtra.

Bridgestone also plans to launch the Ecoopia product line next year, targeting the truck-bus radial (TBR) market.

“We plan to launch Ecoopia tires for the TBR Ecoopia segment for TBR next year from April to June, which will be the first products.”

The company also expects to expand its domestic sales network. The company plans to existing 4,000 people early next year. This is on top of 100 additional stores 100 additional dealers, including dealer direct and dealer managed stores.