CEAT Kelani Holdings has reached another milestone in radial tyre manufacture in Sri Lanka with the Company’s appointment as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for Bolero City Pik-up vehicles assembled in Sri Lanka by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) India in collaboration with Ideal Motors.
All Mahindra Bolero City Pik-ups rolling off the assembly line at the Mahindra Ideal Lanka Automotive Assembly Plant at Welipenna, Matugama are fitted with CEAT Milaze HD radial tyres in the size of 215/75 R15, manufactured at the CEAT Kelani plant in Kelaniya, under an OEM agreement between the two companies.
CEAT has already supplied 180 of these high performance radial tyres for 36 vehicles that will be assembled in November and December this year and has committed to supply up to 720 tyres per month from January 2022 onwards for a targeted maximum of 144 vehicles to be produced monthly by the Mahindra Ideal Lanka joint venture, the Company said.
Commenting on the agreement, CEAT Kelani Managing Director Mr Ravi Dadlani said: “We are delighted to contribute to the local value addition component of the Mahindra and Ideal Motors venture, while doing what we do best – producing high quality tyres designed and engineered for local conditions and supporting the government’s efforts to conserve foreign exchange. Over the past two decades, CEAT has built the equity of the ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ proposition in the tyre industry, and we are proud and appreciative of the opportunity, as exclusive tyre supplier, to support the aspirations of Mahindra and Ideal Motors to progress to vehicles made in Sri Lanka.”
The Managing Director of Mahindra Ideal Lanka Pvt Ltd. Mr Nalin Welgama noted that “This new initiative is a step in the right direction and supports the government policy framework for Sri Lanka’s migration from a market economy to a production-based economy.”
The CEAT Milaze tyres manufactured by CEAT Kelani for the Mahindra Bolero City Pik-up feature profiled shoulder lateral grooves that provide better heat dissipation and wide-angle circumferential grooves that resist cuts and chips. Angular transversal notches and sipes provide enhanced grip and uniform wear, while the angular notched 4-rib high land area design provides longer tyre life and durability.
No stranger to the OEM segment, CEAT Kelani Holdings has been the exclusive original equipment tyre supplier for Mahindra KUV100 compact SUVs assembled in Sri Lanka since 2019. All locally-assembled Mahindra KUV100 vehicles are fitted with CEAT FUELSMARRT 185/60 R 15 tyres.
CEAT Kelani Holdings is considered one of the most successful India – Sri Lanka joint ventures. The joint venture’s cumulative investment in Sri Lanka to date totals Rs 8 billion, inclusive of Rs 3 billion invested since January 2018 for expansion of volumes, technology upgrades and new product development. The company’s manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka encompass pneumatic tyres in the radial (passenger cars, vans and SUVs), commercial (nylon and radial), motorcycle, three-wheeler and agricultural vehicle segments.
The CEAT brand accounts for market shares in Sri Lanka of 48 per cent in the Radial segment, 80 per cent in the Truck category, 84 per cent Light Truck tyre category, 51 per cent in the Three-Wheeler tyre segment, 36 per cent in the Motorcycle tyre segment and 72 per cent in the Agricultural vehicle tyre category. CEAT Kelani exports about 20 per cent of its production to 16 countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East.